Twitter, a tool of choice for dissidents and activists around the world, found itself the target of global outrage Friday after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.

It was a stunning role reversal for a youthful company that prides itself in promoting unfettered expression, 140 characters at a time. Twitter insisted its commitment to free speech remains firm, and sought to explain the nuances of its policy, while critics – in a barrage of tweets – proposed a Twitter boycott and demanded that the censorship initiative be scrapped.

Read Full Article in Huffington Post.com

Good luck.

Calvin Wilson
Founder and CEO
Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals
calvin.wilson1@verizon.net
http://twitter.com/Upstart__Nation

I had the opportunity this past week to speak to a group of entrepreneurs about personal branding. As you might imagine, I was delighted to share my experience and its significance with the large crowd. Much like a prizefighter, I was warming up back stage, as I was getting ready to deliver a knock out talk to a packed room.

Shortly after I began, an older man in the back of the room raised his hand with a question. He asked, “Is this personal branding stuff nothing more than me just setting up a Facebook page and doing some of the Twitter stuff?” I could not help but laugh to myself at the timing of his question.

It occurred to me at that moment that the direction that I was about to head with my talk would have been a complete disaster. Why? I assumed that this group had a reasonable grasp on what personal branding was and were more so looking for some specific ways to leverage their brands to drive more exposure, attention and differentiation in the marketplace. I had planned to
discuss and highlight all the great tools now available do build a bulletproof brand.

I was fortunate to get that question early in my talk as I was about to take these folks on a road trip along an unpaved highway.

The majority of the group had no real concept of what personal branding was or why they should pay attention. It became even more apparent that there were quite a few folks who very skeptical about personal branding and its relevance for them. They showed up for one reason and that was to see and hear whether personal branding was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. That being the case, I guess I was David Copperfield for the day expected to dazzle people with one trick after another.

Nothing against Mr. Copperfield but I was never a big fan of pulling rabbits from my hat.

Instead, I did something a tad bit more provocative. I announced to the room that 50% of them would be out of business or barely in business if they continued to ignore personal branding. At this point, an eerie silence took over the room and I noticed that I now had everyone’s attention. I scrapped the slides, left the podium and went out into the audience to talk about the realities of the digital marketplace. It ended up being a great experience for me and the audience based on the feedback that I received after the talk.

I learned a valuable lesson that day. In my rush to tell the how and what related to personal branding, I almost forget to highlight the “why,” “why me” and “why right now.” Context is indeed king and without it, people are often not moved to act or listen.

The idea of maintaining one’s personal brand may be obvious to some, but certainly not everyone. We still have some work to do.

It is about progress not perfection!

Coca-Cola has quietly become one of the most popular brands on Facebook, along with such pop-culture icons as Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Eminem. Coke, with its 35 million fans, is the 16th-most-popular Facebook page. Disney is No. 23.

Advertising Age this week named Coke its “Marketer of the Year,” citing it as an example of how small and midsize brands also “can use creative stunts and strategic partnerships to get a lot done on a smaller budget.”

On Facebook, Coca-Cola has received more than 35 million “likes,” and Wendy Clark, Coke’s senior vice president of integrated marketing who oversees the social-media effort, says having all those fans respond to Coke is meaningful.

“Fans are twice as likely to consume and 10 times more likely to purchase than non-fans,” she says, in an interview at Coke headquarters here.

The emphasis on social media has clearly paid off, even though it’s only part of Coke’s overall $2.9 billion advertising strategy for TV, radio, Internet, print advertising and billboards.

Coke, the world’s largest beverage company with some 500 different drinks — soft drinks, teas, coffees, juices and water — says its overall beverage volume is up 6% worldwide year to date; 3% for Coke alone. About 1.7 billion drinks of Coke are served daily in cans and bottles and from vending machines.

Read Full Article in USA Today.com

See the Video

Good luck.

Calvin Wilson
Founder and CEO
Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals
calvin.wilson1@verizon.net
http://twitter.com/Upstart__Nation

In the age of ubiquitous social media, I find that so many people lose sight of the fact that developing a personal brand involves real relationships with actual human beings.  Technology has become “comfort food” for far too many of us in developing “Me Inc.,” similar to popcorn at a movie theater.  It is so easy to become enamored with the number of connections and followers we have across social networks.  We feel the need to tell the whole world how many Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections we have as if this is something to brag about, but lack any real and meaningful relationships with any of them. Building your personal brand on an island is okay if your name is Gilligan.  Otherwise, I might suggest that you spend some time each week actually getting to know some of the folks that you are connected to on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Actually, do yourself a favor and make sure you are comfortable in your own skin before you attempt to sell your brand to the rest of the world.  Here are a some suggestions to keep you on the yellow brick road.

1. Amongst all the clutter in the marketplace, something as small as following up when you say you will or saying “thank you” matters more than some might suggest. It is easy to discount the small stuff in our race for more, more, more… Your mission is to make everyone feel valued that you meet online and in person. The little stuff does matter!
2. Take some time to understand and work with all sorts of people who cross your radar screen.  Make people feel important while educating them on what you hope to accomplish but also spending some time to learn about their goals and aspirations. Ask insightful questions, listen, learn, grow and observe daily what people in your network are doing, reading and sharing.  Is it too much to ask to be genuinely interested in someone else success?  I hope not for your sake.
3. Never underestimate another person’s power or ability to help you. You never know where “that” relationship may take you. I learned this one the hard way.  Take an interest in others and they will take an interest in you.
4. Form a network of peers and mentors that will provide you with unfiltered feedback about your brand, messaging, career path etc….  Feedback is a gift!  Mark Twain said it best, “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt”.

“One of the marks of true greatness is the ability to develop greatness in others.”  – J.C. McCauley

Hollywood studios have increasingly looked to social media and Facebook, in particular, as a distribution platform. The early inroads have been experimental, but turning social media users into audiences is a bright new hope for a Hollywood looking to counter sagging DVD sales.

On Tuesday, the social streaming startup flickme will launch a library of more than 1,000 movies for rent or purchase with Facebook and Twitter integration. It already has some notable backers: Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. are participating and noted venture capital firm Sequoia capital has provided funding.

Founded by Mitch Galbraith and Mark Smallcombe, flickme marries the communal element of movies with the social element of the Web. It began with an observation that the movie streaming experiences currently available to users, such as the popular subscription service Netflix, aren’t dynamic.

Read Full Article

Good luck.

Calvin Wilson
Founder and CEO
Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals
calvin.wilson1@verizon.net
http://twitter.com/Upstart__Nation

It’s nearly impossible to get people to pay for what they’re used to getting for free.

You may be familiar with a 2010 survey by the Center for the Digital Future. Of the nearly 2,000 respondents, exactly zero said they would even consider paying for Twitter.

That’s just one illustration of a major problem companies that offer free applications are facing. The money’s got to come from somewhere…

Selling advertising presents an alternative revenue option for these companies. The difficulty with advertising is finding a way to introduce it in a way that subscribers can swallow. In the aforementioned survey, 70% said that they find ads “annoying,” even though half never click on them.

In March, GroupMe, an increasingly popular group text messaging/conference call application, began tackling this challenge in an innovative way.

Their idea: rather than sticking ad banners all over their user interface or blasting random promotional messages to users, they started creating brand experiences around popular television shows, musicians, and events.

Jared Hecht, GroupMe’s co-founder and co-CEO, believes  users will appreciate that they aren’t going to start seeing advertisements. “These are essentially brand experiences that give users a great time,” he said. “It’s a really cool way for brands to engage real life groups of friends that are already talking about the brand anyway.”

These promoted groups can be found under the Feature tab, and they are completely optional, which is part of the appeal. The goal is to be as non-invasive (non-ad-like) as possible.

As the app is SMS-based, there are also contextual ads based on each particular group. For example, TV program groups will send “reminders of when the show is on, tidbits from the characters, the behind-the-scenes inside scoop and more.”

The members of groups for bands and concerts will receive updates on show dates, giveaways, and even chances to interact with the stars. “Bon Jovi could jump right in and answer questions for you,” said Hecht.

That hardly seems like advertising, at least in theory…

How are GroupMe’s users responding to this new option? The jury is still out.

The question remains, what is the smartest way to monetize free apps. Twitter has yet to find a satisfactory answer for that one.

Read “GroupMe Turns to Advertising” to see exactly what they’re doing over there.

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

Upstart: Gamechangers

There are thousands upon thousands of people that still doubt the enormous power of social media and its ability to affect change. In some ways, you can’t blame them.  Everywhere you turn, it is being thrown in your face (your inbox) by the media or some self-proclaimed guru claiming to have mastered the social media universe. I know many people with profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter that claim to have derived little value from them. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was about to experience first-hand the power of this medium.

Last year, we (my family) purchased carpet from Home Depot for our stairs and hallway. While at the store, we were talked into buying a new blend (fabric) that looked great on the rack. We were assured that it would wear well on the stairs (high traffic areas) etc…  I am sure you can guess where this is going. Approximately 90 days after installation, the carpet looked as if the San Diego Chargers had played their regular season on our stairs and hallway. At this point, my wife is almost in tears as she cannot believe that it looks this bad so quickly. I jump up like a Super Hero (perception vs. reality) and assure her that I will take care of it. I am confident that Home Depot will stand behind their product. It’s Home Depot. I find their mission statement online just to make sure that customer service is indeed still important to the folks in Atlanta.  I am in luck, as they value “excellent customer service,” “doing the right thing” and “building strong relationships”.

I call the store to report the issue and this is when the story gets real interesting.  I cannot seem to find out who is actually responsible for taking care of situations like mine. Uh-oh! I get transferred several times on my first attempt and finally end up leaving a message for the consolidator. I have no idea what a consolidator does but that is who I am directed to speak with on Monday morning. Consolidator, consolidator, are you there?

I call the consolidator on Monday morning as directed and I am told that the store is not responsible for this situation but rather the good folks that actually installed the carpet.  Does anyone not outsource anymore? The consolidator insists that this is the process so I ask for the installer’s number and call them. The installer takes the call but it is obvious that they, too, want nothing to do with me and my carpet. Lo and behold, the installer shows up to inspect the carpet. I pick up right away that this is not going anywhere real fast. The installer takes a peek here and there but seems genuinely uninterested in finding out the real issue. I attempt to ask questions for clarity and intent but I get blank looks and lots of mumbled jargon. As I expect, I get a call a few days later from my consolidator explaining that the excessive wear was caused by my family. At this point, not a soul from the store (Home Depot) has offered to come to my house and see it first-hand. What’s next is where I am blown away.

At wits end, I decide to tweet about my unfortunate experience with Home Depot.  I am not sure what I am expecting but in some ways it feels like a great way to blow off some steam.  Within fifteen minutes, I get a tweet from Tinzley at Home Depot. She is pleasant and seems genuinely interested in finding a resolution.  I explain the who, what, when, where, and why to Tinzley and she goes to work in tracking down the appropriate people for me to speak with. As you might have guessed by now, this story has a happy ending as our new carpet looks great.

I am not sure how many other Tinzley’s are out there right now listening and monitoring every Tweet, Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube post but I saw firsthand the power of the phenomenon we call social media.

Take-away: Social media is real, pervasive and it matters. If you don’t believe me, just ask your customers. I think you might be surprised just how many are using social media. On a side note, I still have no idea what a consolidator does which still bothers me.

On another side note, Tinzley, wherever you are, Thank you!

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

Upstart: Gamechangers

I have an ominous warning – a prophecy of doom: America has become the old IBM, the IBM before it became “new IBM.” Before it was revived, repositioned and restored – IBM was an iconic American symbol of big business and advanced technology. But somewhere IBM lost its way: its culture become monolithic, it failed to read mature and emerging markets, it was debilitated by “groupthink,” and slowly, newer technologies, smaller and more powerful machines and more rapid information sources, were eating away at IBM’s market share, profits and brand image. I think the United States is hurling itself down the same path as the old IBM – and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

I spoke of IBM in a previous article Business Turnaround: Blowup The Company To Save It, about its bloated infrastructure, its lack of diversity in thought and culture – and its tin ear, preventing it from hearing, seeing or believing the seismic changes that were happening right before their eyes. IBM lost its excellence, and once IBM was not excellent anymore, it wasn’t IBM anymore. I relate the United States to IBM, because America has also lost its way. America has lost the mindset, culture and momentum of excellence. We have become character actors, as opposed to stars – American Idols, not “American masters.”

In the Empire at the End of Decadence, Charles M. Blow, stated,“It’s time for us to stop lying to ourselves about this country…..America is great in many ways, but on a whole host of measures — some of which are shown in the accompanying chart — we have become the laggards of the industrialized world. Not only are we not No. 1 — “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” — we are among the worst of the worst…..Yet this reality and the urgency that it ushers in is too hard for many Americans to digest. They would prefer to continue to bathe in platitudes about America’s greatness, to view our eroding empire through the gauzy vapors of past grandeur.”

America is doing now, what all great empires do, right before they are no longer great empires – they fail to be introspective – the fail to see the world as it is – they stay encapsulated and nostalgic to a world they once dominated – influenced by a world that doesn’t exist anymore – so instead of doing everything to meet and become the future – they do nothing and are forced into the past.

We are inundated with the  Groupon’s and Facebook’s of the world – but what do they do exactly – - where is the “Moon Shot” – who is America’s Shai Agassi – do we really need discounted coupons, or do we need companies that look to fill vacuums: companies and entrepreneurs that can build new business infrastructures and technology platforms. “I don’t want a car man – I want a space man, who builds cars.” Give me a dreamer, an iconoclast, who refuses to accept conventional wisdom – someone, who knows that what we too often accept as “right,” is dead-wrong – and has dedicated his life to proving it. Give me a believer – a tree shaker – an empire builder. Unfortunately, America has become a country of “Top Models, Real Housewives and Top Chefs,” fun stuff, but really no purpose except to be a distraction.

We’ve become a country of distractions: with the awesome computing and tech prowess at our disposals – with the intellectual firepower of our best and brightest – with those now commanding the stage and light, and those soon emerging, the best we can do is Groupon, Twitter and Reverse Mortgages — C’mon. I don’t think most people know that we’ve learned to live off the distraction, as opposed to the actual thing we are supposed to be focusing on in the first place. America has built multi-billion dollar industries off the distraction. America has decidedly chosen convenience over mastery, and the painful side of that tradeoff is upon us.

Google had it right when it indexed and created sophisticated search algorithms for the entire internet – it thought it could change the world, but what happened – it became a search advertising company, built on “Keywords, Page Rankings, Pay-Per-Click and Search Engine Optimization” – Huh. Google became something other than it was supposed to become, because it lost focus, and has never regained its correct perspective, ambitions or alignment. Google was started by two exceptionally brilliant young men, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who created one of the purest forms of “equality” – equal access to information: and what have we done with it – nothing – what has Google done with it – nothing. Google wasn’t supposed to be competing with Facebook and Apple; it was supposed to be competing with NASA. Google blew it.

The real problem with the lack of excellence is twofold. The people who understand excellence, have resigned themselves to pedestrian performance – have accepted that the days of an exemplary offering is on life-support, and we have become accustomed to being underwhelmed – accustomed to having an unfortunate gap between our best efforts and “amazing.” But the more significant problem is that most people have never seen excellence up close. America lives and works through societies that reward the debate, more than outcomes: Americans live in societies built to demand more, while providing less – it’s old IBM. We have businesses that meet shareholder requirements, not by what they build, but by how many jobs they shed, and they are rewarded handsomely for their lack of performance – rewarded for their incoherence to excellence.

And there are also real world problems: deficits, debt, entitlement costs, irresponsible tax cuts, no decision decisions, lack of leadership, lack of a real plan, lack of real solutions – and many people make their living off the system being broken, as opposed to it working well. There’s incredible profit in pain and turmoil – because you continually have to pay for the treatment, but payment for a cure always comes to an end, which is unacceptable, because business is always about being in business. It’s not that a pharmaceutical company doesn’t want you to have a cold, they just want to help you continually manage it, where you think their products allow you to bear the cold better. Ask yourself, why doesn’t a pharmaceutical company sell over-the-counter (OTC) flu shots, as opposed to Nyquill — limited money in the flu shot, long money in the Nyquill.

Just think, what if the folks at Goldman Sachs decided to use their skill-sets to find ways for Americans to be more appropriately invested in American and global markets, as opposed to moving through sanguine capitalism that only serves their own purposes? What if lobbyists lobbied for cosmopolitan and connected infrastructures – lobbied for a stronger middle-class, as opposed to fringe projects that only help the wealthy and well-connected? What if non-profits decided to put themselves out of business by finding cures, and not merely offering ephemeral relief – what would happen if we actually meant what we said – if we did what we said we were going to do – who would we be then?

America needs to recapture its voice and create a moment to find its imagination, its vision – to find individuals and groups that will snatch the future by the throat, and drag it into our classrooms, into our homes and redefine how we do business, and who we do business with. America needs a call to action: a demand that someone come up with a plan to lessen our dependence on oil by 50% in the next fifteen years, a demand for someone, who has a school reform model that is performance based, teacher and parent supported and replicable – a demand for someone, who has a healthcare plan that reduces costs and improves care, a demand for someone, who has a solution for closing the income gap, without interrupting the free markets – have we forgot that this our obligation – the people’s, not the government’s, not someone else’s, or did you ever know that this power was yours?

I must admit, as I have started this new venture, Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals, I have and continue to meet some exciting and truly powerful figures, both seasoned and very young, who will shape the coming American narrative for generations, but why will only a select few “breakthrough” – why are we still getting ideas from the same places that we always have – obsolete, self-serving ideas that offer more dependence and less innovation – more monopolies and less pluralism – more freedoms, but less freedom?

Excellence is not a thing, it’s a lifestyle – it’s a determination – a choice – it’s an identity and outcome, but it’s never rhetorical, it’s always alive, pulsating, contouring, complaining, pleasing and feverishly reconstituting itself into the next possibility, yet excellence dismisses many and only selects the few who, don’t necessarily believe that their time is now, but those who make “now” their time.

America is at a point, where it doesn’t know what it’s supposed to know – doesn’t know who it’s supposed to be anymore – so as economies and trade repurpose with more of an international equilibrium, as global populations become younger and less dependent on American ideation, as infrastructures become more wired and secular – and as education is defined by those who are serious about it, not just those who have it – the world will change – it already has.

Will America be able to awaken and force itself into a pause – into a good dressing-down of itself, so it can find and offer its best self to its citizens and the rest of the world, or will it keep accommodating accommodation, and slip quietly into the night?

Good Luck.

Calvin Wilson
CEO, Upstart                                                                                                                                                                                                            calvin.wilson1@verizon.net

Upstart: Business and Management for 29-40 Year Old Professionals

Upstart: Tech/E-Commerce

Brian Solis is principal of Altimeter Group, a leading research-based advisory firm. Brian is also the author of the all-new Engage!, an award-winning guide for businesses to build and measure success in the social web. Follow him on Twitter.

As a consumer, you are blasted with the same request over and over: “Follow Us on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook.” Why should I? What’s in it for me? These are questions of which a significant number of businesses cannot genuinely answer.

Today, a notable number of businesses are approaching branded social channels from a “ready, fire, aim” approach. This method conjures a facade of achievement when in fact, any progress, if at all recognized, is short term and shoddy at best. Many focus on numbers without first analyzing who they’re trying to reach and, more importantly, how engagement satisfies the needs of their customers. Without a mature content and engagement strategy, a great unfollow and unlike movement is inevitable.

The answer is as simple as it is revealing. Create the number of channels that meaningfully extend the focus of your business. Only create channels that enhance the brand message without diluting it. And make sure you have the capacity to keep all the channels relevant.

So what are the best practices for creating an engaging social stream? Let’s take a look at the traits of some of the more successful and regarded brands in the business.

1. Design an Effective Channel Strategy: Evaluate the main brand, sub brands and notable personalities that engender a “follow worthy” or “likable” presence. If there are other accounts that exist beyond the initial strategy, assess their value as a standalone channel and its current state. It may be best to simply truncate accounts or close them all together.

2. Create a Life Support System: Develop an organized framework that supports each presence uniquely. Ensure that each account establishes a rhythm that meets the needs of its audience.

3. Mission and Purpose: Know the audience you’re trying to reach and design a communicable mission and purpose for each account.

4. Develop an Editorial Program: Create an editorial program that addresses the various needs of the social consumer including entertainment, sales, service, engagement, HR, etc. Evoke the new K.I.S.S. (Keep It Significant and Shareable). Create content that’s both engaging, contextually relevant and shareable. Think beyond the basics and use polls, curation, promotional content and questions to your advantage.

5. Construct a Listening Framework: The best listeners make the best conversationalists. Build a listening framework that monitors the brands as well as the distinct conversations related to each account.

6. Establish Conversational Workflow: Each account requires an information path and workflow. They also require bridges between them to ensure that every representative is informed and that the right delegates within the business are on point to engage or respond accordingly.

7. Formulate a Decision Tree: Draft a clear flowchart that details the steps for a variety of “if this happens, then do this” situations. This is designed to help representatives follow a defined path for the real-time nature of engagement.

8. Initiate a Training Program: Representatives will require ongoing training to stay sharp and focused. Every engagement either reinforces or takes away from the brand experience. As technology moves faster than our ability to master its lessons, training keeps employees on track.

Read More:

http://mashable.com/2011/04/28/14-best-practices-for-long-term-social-media-success/

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

Upstart: Tech/E-Commerce

How to manipulate social movements by hacking Twitter.

One day last February, a Twitter user in California named Billy received a tweet from @JamesMTitus, identified in his profile as a “24 year old dude” from Christchurch, New Zealand, who had the avatar of a tabby cat. “If you could bring one character to life from your favorite book, who would it be?,” @JamesMTitus asked. Billy tweeted back, “Jesus,” to which @JamesMTitus replied: “honestly? no fracking way. ahahahhaa.” Their exchange continued, and Billy began following @JamesMTitus. It probably never occurred to him that the Kiwi dude with an apparent love of cats was, in fact, a robot.

JamesMTitus was manufactured by cyber-security specialists in New Zealand participating in a two-week social-engineering experiment organized by the Web Ecology Project. Based in Boston, the group had conducted demographic analyses of Chatroulette and studies of Twitter networks during the recent Middle East protests. It was now interested in a question of particular concern to social-media experts and marketers: Is it possible not only to infiltrate social networks, but also to influence them on a large scale?

The group invited three teams to program “social bots”—fake identities—that could mimic human conversation on Twitter, and then picked 500 real users on the social network, the core of whom shared a fondness for cats. The Kiwis armed JamesMTitus with a database of generic responses (“Oh, that’s very interesting, tell me more about that”) and designed it to systematically test parts of the network for what tweets generated the most responses, and then to talk to the most responsive people.

After the first week, the teams were allowed to tweak their bot’s code and to launch secondary identities designed to sabotage their competitors’ bots. One team unleashed @botcops, which alerted users, “You might want to be suspicious about JamesMTitus.” In one exchange, a British user confronted the alleged bot: “What do you say @JamesMTitus?” The robot replied obliquely, “Yeah, so true!” The Brit pressed: “Yeah so true! You mean I should be suspicious of you? Or that @botcops should be challenged?” JamesMTitus evaded detection with a vague tweet back—“Right on bro”—and acquired 109 followers over two weeks. Network graphs subsequently showed that the three teams’ bots had insinuated themselves into the center of the target network.

Read More:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/05/are-you-following-a-bot/8448/

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals