I’m always experimenting with something. This post happens to be part of the 10 Guys, 10 Drinks, 10 Weeks experiment. You can see the others here. Enjoy the laughs, I sure am!
Guy #6. Drink #6. Week #6. I have a confession. It’s not really Week #6. Somewhere along the line, I blurred the weeks together. Technically, this is Week #4. Technically, Guy #6 was literally the night after Guy #5. And technically, this project is way easier than I ever thought it would be. Also known as, I’m a bit bored. By the time I got to Guy #6, it finally hit me that I go out way more than I realized, I’ve just never blogged about it. Who knows? Maybe I’m bored because I pick all the wrong guys. You know, the guys that I have no intention of either taking on a second date or home.
Nevertheless, the night was short and oh, so sweet. And yes, the night included lots of Dom Perignon. What else would you pour for the launch of a new magazine? The locale? Eve Nightclub. Another new venue courtesy of CityCenter. The feel? Very CatHouse like minus the European bordello. The guy? A real estate investor. Needless to say, I learned a lot about real estate. It was very interesting (honestly). The best part about the guy? He didn’t need a babysitter. As I floated around and mingled, he was quite content to chat with others. The next best part? Whenever I returned to his side, he always had a full glass awaiting me. Now, that’s what I call a good date
It always irks me a bit when posts talk about social media not delivering on “promises”, that it “disappointingly” hasn’t grown up yet and it’s not an “enterprise” function of a business because it resides in marketing. All three statements point the blame to social media and some non-existent enterprise department. All three statements are baloney. Social media hasn’t delivered nor grown up because as marketers it’s YOUR fault. Social media hasn’t been seen as more than a marketing function because marketers don’t see it as more than that.
Let’s tackle the easy one first – social media not delivering on promises. Bullshit. Total and complete bullshit. It hasn’t delivered because (a) YOU (aka the marketer) didn’t set campaign objectives and (b) YOU didn’t come up with a measurement. If you launch a campaign with no goal and then tell your executives, “Well… it did great! We got lots of positive mentions.” Ummmm… I’d think social media failed too. But, in reality, YOU failed. You failed to set expectations and you failed to sell how successful the campaign was.
Now, onto the one that requires a little more thinking. Why does social media often sit with marketing? Well, not only do marketing departments market, but they also hold the keys to the brand and ultimately what an entire company embraces, or doesn’t. As the head of marketing, not only are you responsible for external marketing, but you’re also responsible for INTERNAL marketing. Think about it. What’s your company culture? Who came up with the tagline? Who designed the materials to internally promote that tagline? (Side note: Yes, I’m well aware that simply having a tagline does not equal company culture.) Aside from the President, which Executive is in charge of crafting that message? Oh yes, no company-wide initiative would work without the support of ALL Executives, but, who’s in charge of selling them on say, social media as a company-wide business plan? YOU. The Marketer. If ALL your employees aren’t on board – and I’m not saying they have to “get it” like “we” do – then YOU have failed, not social media.
It’s tough. Back in the day, marketers only had to market. Or, as agencies like to believe, marketers sat back and drank while the agency did the heavy lifting. But, not today. Today, the role of a marketing department has evolved into so much more. Today, it’s time for marketers to grow up. Today, it’s time for more marketers to start leading and stop “just” marketing. If marketers can’t do that, then social media is never going to “grow up”.
I’m always experimenting with something. This post happens to be part of the 10 Guys, 10 Drinks, 10 Weeks experiment. You can see the others here. Enjoy the laughs, I sure am!
Guy #5. Drink #5. Week #5. This was the makeup date from Jay’s (not his real name) Week #4 cancellation. The night started and ended at Cabo Wabo, with lots of little boobs in between. I had tickets to see the topless show, Jubilee and had decided that Jay would be the perfect companion. Little did I know that my tickets were first table, center stage. No joke. I could seriously reach out and touch the dancers and feathers from the costumes that continually floated down onto our table. And yes, the seating situation certainly made for an awkward few moments and some good laughs.
The drink? Pineapple Mango Mojitos. Sweet and satisfying, but too sugary to ever be anything but a fling. The boy? Recently divorced. Like in the we-just-filed-paperwork-two-weeks-ago-and-I’m-officially-single-as-of-yesterday recent. Other than the minor hiccup of him feeling completely lost and not knowing what he wants with life, aka the MO for recently divorced people, the date was a blast. Albeit, it was the kind of blast you have with a friend. You know, the kind of time you have with the guy that says all the right things, at exactly the right time, but he means nothing to you kind of way.
All in all, Jay’s the guy you keep tucked tightly away in your back pocket. He’s the perfect companion for any adventure, expect the ones you have in your bedroom
In the last few months, I’ve been amazed at some of the innovative ways companies are aggregating and using information from social networks. From Bravo’s use of Foursquare to We’re All Fans, wow. It seems like the economy has slowed the innovation of “new” and allowed marketers to really harness what’s out there. And, harness it quicker than ever before.
Surprisingly, tonight’s Grammy’s was the first event that twitter both spoiled and enhanced for me. Everything online, from the MSN homepage to twitter was reporting and commenting on the Grammy’s in real time. The comments made me excited and frustrated. I wanted to see the outfits and performances my “friends” were commenting on. But alas, being on the West Coast, I was three hours behind. For me, it was an interesting and new experience. And yes, it made me wish I was living on the East Coast that much more
One of the coolest parts of the Grammy’s was their use of social media. An institution that’s been around for 52 years continues to innovate and stay relevant. From an iPhone app to We’re All Fans, kudos to the marketers behind the show… We’re All Fans was one wicked cool and beautifully done aggregater of what fans we’re saying.
Just a mish mosh of goodness found over the last few weeks:
I could spend hours playing with this infograph of information. Digg365 shows you what stories were most popular by month and day. Plus, it’s just wicked cool.
Uncork your compliments with Toast-its. They’re greeting cards that wrap around wine bottles.
MySpace Fan Video. Basically the coolest thing to come out of MySpace in a long time. The interesting part? They’re using Facebook Connect as well as the MySpace equivalent. From embracing Facebook to being able to purchase the track created to playing up that MySpace has become a place for musicians and music, I love the whole idea behind it.
The Internet in Numbers. I love trivia. I love big numbers. This is one to bookmark and add to a presentation when you want to amaze and awe or just get your point across that this Internet thing is kind of big.
What would a linkfest be without a video? The Coke Happiness Machine has been circulating like crazy. It’s another great example of how to fundamentally alter how people experience your brand:
Looking back on my posts from last January, I stumbled on this one. I thought it might be fun to update the project with my tweets from 2009. So, here it is, with @replies removed again. Thanks to TweetScan and Wordle for the fun and insights!
I’m always experimenting with something. This post happens to be part of the 10 Guys, 10 Drinks, 10 Weeks experiment. You can see the others here. Enjoy the laughs, I sure am!
Guy #4. Drink #4. Week #4. While I haven’t been turned down yet, this week started with a last minute cancellation. The original plans included dinner, drinks and Jubilee. But, Jay (not his real name) canceled the night before. Since I was exhausted, I was a bit relieved. Then, I ran into Bob (not his real name either). Bob and I run in similar circles and while I’ve always seen him out, we’ve never truly hung out. An invite to Blue Martini seemed like the perfect opportunity to change that.
When I got to Blue Martini, Bob was already two shades to the wind. I didn’t mind, I was ready to blow off some steam. Since we were at a bar specializing in martinis and cocktails, it was the perfect time for drink #4 to be a sidecar. A few drinks in, I told Bob about this project. He got a kick out of it. In fact, he even helped me score Guy #5. After a few more, we decided to bail and head over to Stoney’s. There, Bob met a very loose girl and clearly under the influence of beer goggles, spent the night sucking face with her. That’s Bob for you. And me? I ran into potential Guy #6. Unfortunately, potential Guy #6 wasn’t taking the bait and I was feeling too old to keep trying with someone who was only remotely interested.
All in all, the sidecar was too sweet, too temperamental and too unknown to be a go-to drink. And the guy? Well, at least I found #5 out of the deal.
I’m always experimenting with something. This post happens to be part of the 10 Guys, 10 Drinks, 10 Weeks experiment. You can see the others here. Enjoy the laughs, I sure am!
Guy #3. Drink #3. Week #3. This wasn’t your typical Vegas out-of-towner. Oh no, Paul (not his real name) is part CEO, part Venture Capitalist, and all aloof sexiness. He’s the guy that knows he’s the best, but never shows it. The guy who’s uniform consists of skinny jeans, untucked button-down shirt, leather jacket and boots. He pulls the look off effortlessly, no matter where he is. By night, he’s a wine lover and so drink #3 was undoubtedly red wine. I love red wine. But with acid reflux it’s become a rare, guilty pleasure. It’s something that saddens me to no end.
Paul easily dominates many a conversation. I don’t think he means to. He just does. He dominated this one and I let him. He talked of nights in LA, bottles of wine, his new company and old competitors. We laughed, we drank and my mind wandered to the blog post I read earlier in the day about the why’s of dating. I thought about why I’m doing this experiment. And, with that in mind, I decided that I was a little too cool for Paul, but the red wine? Well, the red wine might just go back to being more than a guilty pleasure.
I’m always experimenting with something. This post happens to be part of the 10 Guys, 10 Drinks, 10 Weeks experiment. You can see the others here. Enjoy the laughs, I sure am!
Guy #2. Drink #2. Week #2. The theme? Marriage. The venue? Vanity. Complete with male and female strippers (for the bachelor and bachelorette parties, duh!), candy necklaces and table dancers dressed in sexy wedding dresses and black boots. The guy? Mysterious. Part of me has him completely figured out. The other part? Not so much. Oh, and the drink? Vodka Soda. Grey Goose to be exact. While the club was transformed into an alternate universe of brides and grooms, a few things still remained the same – we walked straight in, past the line of 50, to the best table in the club. The cocktail servers were overly attentive – glasses were always full and the table was always clean. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to be a regular club-goer. It’s an experience I rarely, if ever, encounter.
Alas, I suppose you want to hear more about Jim (not his real name) than the club Jim is the perfect gentleman. Utterly brilliant, charismatic, not needy or clingy. He commands a room effortlessly. The guys admire him and the girls shoot me evil eyes for being the one on his arm. He’s the male version of my social butterfly. In theory, he’s the perfect guy for me. And yet, the puzzle pieces don’t quite fit. I can never figure out why.
On the other hand, the drink… well, the drink just might fit. Nevertheless, it’s still too early to tell. Besides, I can’t disappoint the other eight drinks waiting for me.
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I’m always experimenting with something. This post happens to be part of the 10 Guys, 10 Drinks, 10 Weeks experiment. You can see the others here. Enjoy the laughs, I sure am!
