{"id":27423,"date":"2011-10-20T16:58:12","date_gmt":"2011-10-20T15:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=27423"},"modified":"2011-10-20T16:59:35","modified_gmt":"2011-10-20T15:59:35","slug":"social-media-pro-%e2%80%a6-maybe-it%e2%80%99s-time-to-get-a-productive-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/social-media-pro-%e2%80%a6-maybe-it%e2%80%99s-time-to-get-a-productive-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media Pro \u2026 Maybe It\u2019s Time to Get a Productive Job!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n     google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm', 'Marken Communications']);\" ><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">Marken Communications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the opinions expressed are solely those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and the <strong>opinions of the rest of the ABT staff.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> \u2013Mark Poppin,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">ABT Senior Editor<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>So Much for Social Media PR<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-15.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27424\" title=\"Untitled-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-15.jpg?resize=292%2C179\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><em>\u201cHow many people work here?\u00a0 About half.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That sounds kinda\u2019 familiar when you\u2019re talking about people who consider themselves social media professionals.<\/p>\n<p>The age-old statement came to mind when we read a recent blog by Mitch Joell, President of Twist Image and author of \u201c<em>Six Pixels of Separation.\u201d \u00a0<\/em>His post was about employees who spend too much time online and how they are basically stealing.<\/p>\n<p>A piece in the \u201c<em>Globe and Mail\u201d<\/em> pertained to a government employee who was caught \u2013 and dismissed \u2013 for spending half of his time on the Web surfing and downloading \u201call\u201d kinds of stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Mitch\u2019s point was that employees who are caught spending too much time online doing things that have nothing to do with their work are really time thieves.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s not just the people who are \u201ccaught.\u201d \u00a0The rest are also stealing time but \u2026 they\u2019re busy.\u00a0 They\u2019re busy updating their Facebook page\u2026polishing their LinkedIn image\u2026Twitting about their coffee, their lunch, their date last evening\u2026watching the cute kitty trick on YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>You know, busy taking care of important stuff.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brave New World<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When social media outlets began to gain traction, it was like the great white hope for PR\/communications people.\u00a0 This was a frontier that companies\/organizations knew very little about.\u00a0 What they did know was that a lot of people were there and thousands more were joining every day.<\/p>\n<p>People meant an audience, targets.<\/p>\n<p>These individuals were out there sharing everything\u2026including ideas\/information on products, services, companies, the person in the next office, their issues, their triumphs, getting hired and\u00a0 getting fired.<\/p>\n<p>C-level management looked at it with mixed emotions:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0It seemed like a great (cheap) way to monetize relationships with customers and have them help the firm develop more relationships\/ customers<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They were concerned that people were talking about the company and its products, and they weren\u2019t able to control\/manage the conversations<\/p>\n<p>Who knows better how to craft a message, convince folks and control things than PR\/communications people?\u00a0 But with the Monday morning quarterbacks, the way players analyze and rehash events of the day; some have taken this expertise to a new level.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Think Twice, Three Times\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The way people publicly trip on their own petard, it\u2019s obvious that social media provides a platform that enables folks to make personal and public damage even more public.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\">Or, to paraphrase Mitch Radcliffe, \u201c<em>Social media enables people to make more mistakes than any other invention in history\u2026with the possible exception of handguns and tequila.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-25.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27425\" title=\"Untitled-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-25.jpg?resize=323%2C162\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-25.jpg?resize=323%2C162 323w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-25-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 323px) 100vw, 323px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Automated Response<\/strong> \u2013 New systems, new software will do what publicists don\u2019t seem to want to do, respond to folks online.\u00a0 And they\u2019ll do it without emotional outbursts.\u00a0 Just when the new 140 character graduates thought they\u2019d found a rich career.\u00a0 <strong>Screen Shot \u2013 MGM<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Because of the growing issues surrounding the use and misuse of social media, Clearswift, an international security firm, conducted a survey.\u00a0 They found that the surveyed executives felt that more than half of the time employees spent on social media were wasted.\u00a0 If not wasted, then employees were making errors on sites they visited, paving the way for malware or cybertheft.<\/p>\n<p>LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites have shown outlandish gains in their user bases.\u00a0 But because of the lost productivity and security concerns, Clearswift reported that a growing number of companies have taken action to restrict or block access to social media sites,<\/p>\n<p>The IT security firm found that even though there\u2019s a big push by marketing to increase their social media presence (and budget), corporate social media blocking increased 100 percent last year over the previous year.\u00a0 Clearwater also reported that about half of the firms used specialized software to help them block or minimize social media site access.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>It isn\u2019t just the wasted time \u2013 which is seldom a part of the policy \u2013 it\u2019s the security risk and potential data loss.<\/p>\n<p>The social media professional surfs from Facebook to Twitter to YouTube and <strong><em>BAM!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But the potential for organizations in building, expanding relationships is too great to simply build walls.\u00a0 And if people can\u2019t learn, act professionally, responsibly there has to be a better solution.<\/p>\n<p>There is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No Emotion Response<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You may have seen the article in the \u201c<em>New York Times<\/em>,\u201d called \u201c<em>In Case You Wondered, a Real Human Wrote This Column\u201d <\/em>The article discussed a new software solution from Narrative Science and how sports media outlets were using the solution to \u201cwrite\u201d summary articles.<\/p>\n<p>The key points of the article were the increasing sophistication of AI (artificial intelligence), automatic language understanding and language generation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cs.washington.edu\/homes\/etzioni\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.cs.washington.edu\/homes\/etzioni\/', 'Oren Etzioni, a computer scientist']);\" title=\"Oren Etzioni\u2019s Web page.\">Oren Etzioni, a computer scientist<\/a> at the University of Washington, said the article created by the software seemed to have been written by a human, if not an accomplished wordsmith.<\/p>\n<p>The online industry already makes heavy use of computer-based analytics and key word analysis to determine every detail about a group or individual.\u00a0 Mating those proven \u2013 and widely used \u2013 capabilities with Narrative Science\u2019s application and you have more than just an inexpensive solution for producing news items.<\/p>\n<p>Taken to the next level, companies can suddenly have a 24&#215;7 social media \u201cresponder\u201d that doesn\u2019t get sidetracked by the Flickr video and doesn\u2019t lash out in a moment of frustration\/irritation.<\/p>\n<p>It will be a lot like Hal in \u201c<em>2001: A Space Odyssey.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-34.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27426\" title=\"Untitled-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-34.jpg?resize=308%2C170\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-34.jpg?resize=308%2C170 308w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-34-300x165.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Source: MGM<\/p>\n<p>It will simply take in all the information (and surrounding information) and provide the response that is professionally correct without an emotional outburst.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Irreplaceable<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Social media specialists can never be replaced?<\/p>\n<p>No more than actors could ever be replaced in movies.<\/p>\n<p>Better see \u201c<em>Rise of the Planet of the Apes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Even Primatologists admitted they found it impossible to distinguish between the real apes in the movie and those using CGI (computer-generated imagery) technology.<\/p>\n<p>Is it that much of a leap to come to grips with the fact that if you don\u2019t listen, don\u2019t learn, don\u2019t improve every day; you may not be replaced by Hal or the ape but then again\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Just remember, if it is Hal, he has no feelings\u2026its just work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-44.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27427\" title=\"Untitled-4\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-44.jpg?resize=307%2C170\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-44.jpg?resize=307%2C170 307w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Untitled-44-300x166.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 307px) 100vw, 307px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Source:\u00a0 20<sup>th<\/sup> Century Fox<\/p>\n<p>If it\u2019s the ape, at least he will empathize with you.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n<p><strong>by: G.A. &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> President<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> Marken Communications Inc.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <a href=\"mailto:Andy@markencom.com\">Andy@markencom.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech 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A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of Marken Communications Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking article. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":27427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,7],"tags":[4886,4885,4889,4888,4887,4884],"class_list":["post-27423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-technology","tag-a-i","tag-automated-response","tag-automated-social-media-responder","tag-security-risks","tag-social-media-misuse","tag-social-media-profession"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}