The Future of Social Media and Getting Hired

Since the invention of social media profiles reputation has been a concern. While in college, all I heard from the previous generation of teachers, parents and administrators was, "be careful what you post or it will keep you from a job" and in some fields, "avoid it at all costs." For the February 2011 issue of Metro Magazine I even wrote about how your social media profile could incriminate you in court. We are taught discretion is the key to our success.

This is not true.

Discretion is just one step, and if it is the the key to anything it is the key to mediocrity.

To make an impact in a world as interconnected as ours, you need to stand up to speak. Generation Y has listened enough to the warnings of Generation X. They advise us as best they can but they are not fluent in instantaneous or permanent communication. Only a unique voice with something interesting to say can guarantee you success.

It is true, everyone should think about what they post before they post it. But this fear-mongering over every photo and comment posted is an oversimplification that omits the obvious fact that in the future there is going to be ass-loads of information on everyone. Employers are going to need a backhoe, not a  hand rake, to dig through potential employee's personal history.

An affluent person on social media probably has a profile on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, Amazon, Spotify, CouchSurfer and if they're single perhaps a couple dating sites. The Internet is interwoven into our day-to-days lives and to show what that life is, is to make us human.

And that is who employers want to hire--a real human being--at least the ones worth working for. Only a micromanaging naysayer cares what you do on weekends (within reason). Be upstanding and be yourself. That should be your greatest selling point, not the fear of your employer figuring out who you are. Social media is the place where you can prove yourself, not discredit yourself, so blog, tweet and post away! And ditch the naysayers for whatever progressive employer has the brains to hire you.

(Please note: Politics being the obvious exception--they were doomed from the start.)

The Coffee Facts

Great infographic advocating coffee simply by giving facts.

REVIEW: DAMN GOOD ADVICE (for people with talent!) by George Louis

What if advertising books were written like an ad? Behold, George Louis' new book Damn Good Advice (for people with talent!).

It is written and illustrated like any talented ad person should--bold design, active language and fresh perspective. Lois uses excellent real world examples as well as powerful quotes from Lincoln, Picasso and of course, George Lois.

Which is the only hurdle while reading this book. There are very few people with as much ego as Lois. A fact he would neither deny or see a reason to justify. Almost all examples come back to the author. But as Lois would no doubt put it, winning is winning. Even if sometimes it is at the cost of threatening to throw yourself out a window (see #46. If all else fails, threaten to commit suicide).

But in all seriousness, once acclimated to Lois's hyperbolized ego, this book is a powerhouse of inspiration for any young professional entering the field of advertising. Funny, smart and sometimes so egotistical it makes you wince, Damn Good Advice is exactly that--a kick in the pants for any Mad Man (or woman) talented enough to read.

Why Everyone Is All About Instagram

Recently purchased by Facebook for $1 billion, Instagram has blown the fuck up. And it's only going to get bigger.

Popular for its easy-to-use filters that make any amateur photographer's shot look hip/nostalgic/whatever, Instagram capitalizes on a simpler and more mobile model of Pinterest. Incredibly app friendly, it might just provide the boost in mobile-legitimacy Facebook is so desperately lacking.

Replacing their heavily criticized Facebook Camera, Instagram not only brings a better set of photo filters but a huge following of trend setters that have been swapping shots of their cappuccinos across the world for over a year.

Now paired with the company's $100 billion and rising net worth, there's no doubt we can expect a bigger following, more photoshopping tools and more Instagram use in social media marketing.

A great example of how businesses can use Instagram in social media strategy is Spyhouse Coffee in Minneapolis. Staging a competition through Instagram, they've set up a panel of judges (assumably baristas) to choose a winner each week from submitted shots of their stores. Each week there's a different theme; submitters simply follow these three guidelines.

1) Submitters must follow @Spyhousecoffee.
2) Each submitter can only submit one image each week per theme.
3) Entries must be public and submitters must be local.

Simple content paired with open-submission design. It's brilliant. And it's practically free. Welcome Instagrammers, to the future (now available in more than just sepia tone).

The Rise of Mobile

According to Forrester Research, between 2008 and 2011 the number of adults that accessed the Internet from PCs daily rose from 54 percent to 62 percent. During that same amount of time the percentage of daily mobile Internet users rose from 4 to 26 percent. There is no denying mobile is the way of the future.

But what does it mean? And how does that affect marketing?

Right now, formatting websites and apps to fit mobile devices has become the lucrative business for all tech savvy personnel. With writing code becoming more and more obsolete with the rise of easy-to-build websites with software and websites like WordPress, Weebly or whatever, smart designers and back-end developers are led to enter a more fertile frontier.

On top of that, social media sites are going to change. Many pundits are declaring the move to mobile as the death of Facebook. Why? Facebook cannot offer the same advertising, branding or games that it can on its PC version. They are struggling to evolve where new social media can innovate anew.

And social media isn't even the big picture. ALL ad driven websites face future limitations on mobile. If current predictions are true, and the general public begins to use mobile as their main source of Internet access (the same way people replaced their home phones with cellphones in the '00s), restrictive data plans will begin to displace online advertising. And with restrictions on the majority of online users, where will advertisers turn? Television? Podcast? A new, better ad friendly form of social media? Only time will tell.

But not to worry, not all is daunting. With the rise of mobile comes a complete rise of client information. If mobile networks fully capitalize on information gathering and sell it to businesses/marketers, they could make the once unprecedented niche marketing of Facebook look like a block phone at a Steve Job's iPhone Fair. The potential for geomarketing would be enormous and through studying potential customer's behavior patterns, mobile could turn out to be best thing to ever happen to marketing.

Why Ad People Are Not Normal [INFOGRAPHIC]

Hilarious infographic from Co.Create on the different social media perspectives between an ad person and a "normal" person.

Three Social Costs Worth Your Money

While social media may be free, there are a few expenses worth splurging on to improve the exposure or image of your business.

1. Purchase a worthwhile tool. Yes, there are many free tools such as Hoot Suite and Timely that can schedule your posts and add multiple accounts, but that isn't what you're paying for. If you're looking to understand where your followers are coming from and what their typical user behavior is, you need analytics--a feature many free tools do not include. Also there are powerful search options in tools such as Tweet Adder in which a business can locate users by location, profile description or keywords. This tool can also compile and export lists of potential followers, stagger your following of them and unfollow those your don't follow you back.

2. Advertise on social media sites. Target marketing has never been so easy. With social media profiles containing such in-depth information about their users and their user base reaching into the billions, advertising on social media sites should be a no brainer.

3. Hire a specialist. If you want to get serious about your business's social media marketing, committing to a specialist is the next step. Just because social media is free, do not be mistaken that anyone can do it or that is isn't important. It's a rapidly growing market and your commitment to that growth may determine the growth of your company. Hiring a specialist not only guarantees present social media will remain updated and customers outside of your doors will remain engaged, but also future unforeseen trends will be followed and your company's image will correspond with those changes.