social media 101: first installment

facebook timeline

When I was assigned the task to come up with a Social Media 101 walkthrough to show a colleague my process in handing the various channels for the company, I responded instantly in a nonchalant manner thinking that this would be simple. With the many tools that I use day-in-day-out and with lot’s of information available on the web regarding the subject, coming up with a succinct dosier on my alleged field of expertise. The result and reality of the matter is, I don’t exactly know what my process is. But in the next hour, I’m about to find out.

To begin, I think it appropriate that I’m presenting this in the form of a blog post. The rise of the “Blog” or weblog as news and as journalism was the foundation for the subsequent boom of Social Networking and Social Media at large. This new way of communicating ideas in a fast and social manner eventually spawned variations of the format (microblogs – Twitter/Weibo) (miniblogs – Tumblr/Posterous/DianDian) that caters to a different segment of influencers and pundits as well as regular people such as you and I.

As time ran out and random tasks got in the way, I’ll have to summarize this session into the following points:

Content – product reviews/write-ups, PR releases, news, editorials, advertorials, featured articles…

Platforms – social networks, microblogs, forums, Q&A sites, social bookmarking, mobile apps…

Objectives – expertise sharing, word-of-mouth, customer service, informational, community building, frictionless integration…

Daily activities: channel monitoring, content production, content curating, active response/commenting

In the next installment, I’ll try to cover the intricacies of communicating through social media, writing styles and personifying the brand and enterprise to connect and engage the masses and targeted groups alike.

as time goes by…

you must remember this...

If you guys are new to my blog, welcome.

Haven’t written a new post for over a year now. Feeling very rusty and a bit nervous. Unlike when I’m tweeting, I suppose I actually have to make sense on a “real” blog post.

As I’ve remarked on a recent update to my “last post” from early 2010, life had gotten in the way of my previous attempt in being a responsible blogger.

After a brief stint in the finance industry and yet another failed attempt to resurrect my startup, I’ve landed a job in a media company.

It’s nice to have resources and working with real brands is far more rewarding than digging in the couch for loose change just to make ends meet.

Things on the personal front are also much calmer in comparison with the past period of absolute insanity. In fact, I quite enjoy the fact that I don’t have time for much of a personal life since I started at the new company.

Not sure how long the honeymoon period with this company will last, but as I’m passionate about finally being able to do real work, I think I’ll actually be staying for the long haul. But life, as I’ve experienced it, is always full of surprises.

And to all my friends and acquaintances in the startup community, I WILL BE BACK!

But for now, let’s see if I can create some opportunities for y’all.

Oh, and I’m getting fat again! Need to lose weight.

an original post per day…

*Obviously, this did not end up happening as life gets in the way as usual*

As you can see, my company’s domain have now been redirected to this blog. For the time being, this will be the base of operation for any Metamorphosis Multimedia related news and announcements. In time, all the company blog posts from 2008 will also be migrated over and combined with existing entries.

The general direction of M3 is to focus on social media as a distribution channel for all sorts of content including but not limited to videos, blog articles, promotions, product features, tutorials, and various other useful resources.

The idea is to post at least once a day. Somehow I need to dicipline myself in such a way that allow for a sustainable content stream that keeps people coming back to check out my latest boring antics.

The goal is to be somewhat entertaining. Hopefully I’ll be able to offer up some advise or insights into social media, financial planning, and life in general.

If you don’t see a new blog from me here on any given day, go check on my Chinese blog (if you read Chinese). Alternatively you could go to my new setup at Posterous where I’ll be aggregating both of my blogs into one place at some point. I still love WordPress. It will always be my base. But I’m also exploring other services that can cater to my other needs, such as autoposting to Xanga. Please follow me on twitter as well if want to know the instant I’m taking a crap.

Nah! Just a bad joke, I know. Sorry.

in the numbers…

Since I’m now in the finance industry, numbers have started to occupy a good amount of my daily thought process. Before it’s all about the ideas and the creative explosions, but now, quantifiable data is starting to make more and more sense to me. This is why my recent blog stats is so upsetting to me.

For someone who claims to be a social media specialist, the amount of inactivity I manage to accumulate is staggering. Sure, I’ve been busy with meetings, setting up blogs for clients, exploring various channels of income, advocating the importance of financial health, and immersing myself in my new company, etc…

If I were here to come up with excuses, I could go on all day long. But what I want to emphasize more is the simple truth that traffic comes from a sustained presence in multiple channels. In other words, if you show up enough, eventually someone is going to take a look and maybe you’ll have something they want.

i am YOUR IFA, mofos!

photo by James Cridland

No, seriously. I mean, seriously!

So what exactly is an IFA?

IFA stands for independent financial adviser, feel free to read up on it here. Financial planning, asset management, investment, all that Jazz.

I’ve been approached numerous times by the insurance industry urging me to join their ranks. While I’m flattered by their confidence in my ability to peddle policies, I know better. I’ve never been too keen on being a salesman and I know I’m bound for greater things.

No, I’m not a stock broker, nor do I work for a bank. Clearly I do not sell insurance.

So what’s the difference with the IFA field? Isn’t it basically glorified sales anyways?

Well, no.

i’m now a full-time blogger!

photo by jimw

Just kidding. April fools!

Wait… did I get the dates mixed up again?

No… just putting off the inevitable once again.

Sorry boss, I know you told me not to tell people I’m new at this but I just can’t help myself.

*Special thanks to jimw for the flickr photo*

i’m not a comedian but…

photo by petesimon

Some people find me hilarious, or maybe I just think they do. Regardless of which, I think I’m capable of bringing joy and laughter to the masses if given the right viechle, the right opportunity, the right stage.

(Something tells me this isn’t it, blogging that is.)

I may not be a comedian, but I can say rather funny things to entertain those around me. Those who know me well may have experienced this. Those who haven’t yet can expect it tomorrow. Those who read this blog may find yourselves giggling at times for no apparent reason.

Entertainment is my life’s purpose, the movies especially. To entertain is to give people something to think about, laugh about, cry about.

If my words here don’t touch you in one way or another, then I’m not doing it right.

If you don’t care, no one can make you.

about my old job (a review)…

First of all, my boss was terrible. I was overworked, underpaid, and most importantly, I wasn’t satisfied that all my hard work resulted in one ginormous goose-egg in the bank.

For those who don’t already know, you guessed right. For the past year or so, I’ve been working for myself in my own company. (yeah, the pictures don’t show up.) I’ve managed to squander a good sum of my dad’s hard earned money, not to mention some of my own. I’ve made a mess of both my personal and professional life and learned a great deal about humility.

This is, however not a letter of surrender.

about my new job (a preview)…

photo by Mykl Roventine

So, it’s funny that my last post was about being productive. With that said, I’ve been putting off writing this post about my new adventure into a new career for quite a few weeks now. Mostly I was still coming to terms with this reality not really sure I was going through with it, but also, I want to figure out how exactly to explain the reasons behind such a drastic change.

Those of you who’ve been following my other blog in Chinese might know that I’ve been in quite a melodramatic mood as of late. This is partly to do with the state of my current relationship, which is tumultuous to say the least. But it’s also because of the uncertain state of my work situation as I’ve mentioned. Panhandling at the entire world seemed like a good idea at the time when I had no real prospects of making money.

Things have changed.

i can be productive if i want to be…

It’s not that I’m unproductive, but in the past, I’ve found myself with a lot of idle time. When you get things done, you’re left with a sense of emptiness. Like in Memento, once you’re gotten your revenge, what else is there to strive for?

Sometimes, this can drive you mad. You find every excuse possible to delay completing the tasks at hand; you wait for the last possible moment to minimize that loss; you act busy rather than getting busy.

When procrastination rears its ugly head, it’s just like looking into a mirror, because ultimately, there’s only yourself to blame.