A new book review added Groundswell. Do you have a SM book to recommend?
http://social.printing.org/page/9159 Keeping up to date with Social Media is a challenge and some books are “must reads.” This is one of them. Groundswell is a foundational book and helps to clarify social media strategy and tactics. Read the reviw and if you have a suggestion or want to contribute a book review, let me know Thanks.
read moreConversation with Author of The Social Media Bible
For any social media buffs, you know The Social Media Bible written by Lon Safko. Today, I was pleased to have a conversation with Lon to hear about his future plans for a PBS program and tour related to social media. I had an opportunity to share with him my points on b2c2b ….we are always selling to people and if selling to a business you must sell a person (c) and they must sell to the business (b). We also talked about the potential for geo tools to multiply big time with workers who indulge in geo games to transfer the practice to businesses. Any thoughts to share about b2c2b or geo tools? Yes, geo tools webinar is today!...
read moreSafety– Know It, Live It
Due to higher-than-average machine related injuries, OSHA has placed the printing industry on its list of high hazard industries for amputations. As a result OSHA has been very aggressive under its National Emphasis Program on the prevention of amputations through inspections of and enforcement on the printing industry. Safety in the workplace needs to be a top priority in print shops—especially when there’s the risk of serious injury and hefty penalties. We know accidents do happen and to help keep safety at the forefront of people’s minds we’ve developed a series of safety posters. This set of posters communicates the importance of equipment safety practices as they relate to basic lockout/tagout procedures, machine guarding, and proper use of safety controls. These posters stand out with their bright colors and pictures to remind employees to practice safe techniques. There’s even a QR code on the poster that, when scanned, provides the contact information for our manager of environmental health and safety affairs, Rick Hartwig. The set of posters is available as a free high-resolution PDF download for members ($15 for non-members) to print and display around equipment, hang in the pressroom, break room, or common area. For more information about the safety posters or any of the products or services offered by Printing Industries of America’s Environmental, Health, and Safety department visit www.printing.org/compliance or call 800-910-4283, ext....
read moreSocial Media Tools in the Spotlight with Webinars This Week with Julie and Mary
Julie Shaffer and I are presenting three webinars this week. We will be highlighting various aspects of social media tools. Please join us for the series or pick and choose one or two to tune in. If you have an experience you would like to share related to the topic, email me directly mgarnett@printing.org Thank you! Mary Garnett http://www.printing.org/node/9091 LinkedIn as a Sales Tool Today! February 15 http://www.printing.org/node/9090 Monitoring Your Online Reputation Februay 16 http://www.printing.org/node/9089 Putting Your Company on the Map with Geo Social Tools February 17...
read morePrinting Industries of America: The Blog
Welcome to Printing Industries of America’s blog! We know it’s important as ever to engage with our members and provide them with the resources and information they need to succeed in this industry, and this blog will go a long way toward achieving those goals. This blog will feature posts written by our experienced staff on a variety of topics. You can look forward to reading about becoming a more efficient printer, green printing, how politics can impact printing, digital printing, cross-media marketing, and so much more. Additionally, this blog will let you get to know more about Printing Industries of America. Have you ever wondered how we develop a conference? Or what becomes of the recipients of our awards, like the Premier Print Awards Best of Show? Well, this blog is a platform where we can share some of this information and better showcase the videos and audio recordings we produce. The Printing Industries of America blog will open a doorway to building a community where printers can come to share ideas, resources, and find useful nuggets of information. You can look forward to updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Be sure to bookmark this page and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We’re really excited to be able to produce this blog, and we hope you’ll help it grow by actively participating on blog...
read moreFirst Book Review Available–How to Disappear: Erase Your Digital Footprint, Leave False Trails, and Vanish without a Trace
The Social Media Field Guide website will carry book reviews. The first one is: How to Disappear: Erase Your Digital Footprint, Leave False Trails, and Vanish without a Trace by Frank M. Ahearn and Eileen C. Horan, Lyons Press, September 2010. Disappearing in general is difficult, expensive, and detail oriented; or, you must be very lucky. If you really think you will need to disappear, forget using social media sites and tools. The detailed outline of erasing your digital footprint is helpful and dicey. With all the discussion of privacy, the regret of overexposure on social media and plain curiosity, I read this book. Ahearn says he is a “liar for hire” (AKA skip tracer) and he details how he “always finds his man (or woman).” That sets the tone for the gritty language and vivid descriptions. It was informative, humorous, and filled with thoughtful suggestions. Rating 4 of 5 Full review is available....
read moreKeep an Eye on Interactive Billboards
While billboards, banners, posters, and signs have long been part of the printers offerings, interactive billboards are breaking in with interactive ads that pedestrians can use a smartphone to download an app or send a text message to the company. Wi-Fi is the key to these interactive posters. A few companies are experimenting to see what the business model will be. Google Inc., Nokia Corp. and France Telecom SA’s Orange are running pilot tests. While not wide spread, interest is gaining ground. Check it out. ...
read moreLaw Enforcement Will Hate This App—Celebrities and Cheating Spouses Will Love it!
Have you ever regretted a written text message or video sent to someone? Have you ever sent a joke or forwarded someone’s message and had second thoughts? A new messaging service called TigerText may be the answer. It sounds intriguing for those who fear the records they are creating. Both the sender and the receiver must have the app. This app is available on iPhones, Androids and BlackBerry devices. Basically, the user sends a message/video and sets an expiration date; message travels across the TigerText network; receiver activates the expiration process upon opening the message. Immediately upon expiration, the service writes over the file and no copies are stored or available. I am going to find a friend to try this. What business could benefit from using this? Doctors? Lawyers? Fund Traders? Alleged criminals that have their messages brought into court will wish they used it. How could our industry benefit from disappearing text? Users could be anyone who wants privacy. Check out a review of TigerText: http://prnt.in/Z43 Here is the article in WSJ–http://prnt.in/Z4J...
read moreUpdate to Gary Vynerchuk, (mentioned in SMFG p. 27) "All in?"
SMFG used Gary Vynerchuk as an excellent example of building brand awareness to his wine business. Gary was recently featured in an interview in Inc. magazine (February, 2011). He has a great quote, “When it comes to social media, I think most companies are putting a couple of chips on the table. I’m all in. Engagement is key to building real relationships with people you do business with…” Made me stop and think…am I all “in”? Are you all in? See the details of this interview… his energy exudes in describing the “The Way I Work.” See http://prnt.in/Z4o I was impressed with his schedule and amazed at his use of TweetDeck. Also wondered if he has more than the allotted 24 hours per day! Note that he moved from his wine business to VaynerMedia. Impressive....
read moreMy iPad Journey: iPad Future in Publishing
I am monitoring the iPad not only from my personal reaction but also to the value that various apps have in relationship to the publishing business and any affects on printing. Recently Richard Romano of WhatTheyThink wrote an excellent article for Printing Industries of America The Magazine, In the article in the Forecast Part 1, Trends and Tactics, Romano’s article, “ E-Books Go Mainstream,” he opened with a tantalizing “Trivial Pursuit” question about “Who was the first author to sell one million e-books?” This question was really a mechanism to illustrate the difficulty in actually paying attention and analyzing the use, purchase, and comparison to book sales that exist. What all the attributed facts and illustrations proved is that e-books are impacting publishing and print products…not to mention our lives. The general fact is that e-books are gaining ground in all book categories. For the Forecast article see http://www.printing.org/page/4508 Since we are exploring the use of an app to download The Magazine and other publications, I am also monitoring the results of magazine subscriptions and use on the iPad. In a recent article in WWDMedia http://prnt.in/ZZt , the author points out that actual subscriptions to digital versions are going down rather than up. The author compares the strong initial digital sales to the diminishing numbers now. So what? Publishers and printers (particularly of magazines and books) and cross-media service providers need to watch this trend so that we can match tactics with this knowledge. So to my own reaction to books and magazines on the iPad: Magazines. Yes, I like the magazines on iPad especially since a user can launch into video’s and see more than just read content. On the other hand, I don’t want to pay for a subscription. (A reoccurring theme?) Frankly, as much as I read, I don’t really have the time or interest to click through and experience more fully the content but that is me! Particularly since I receive many magazines in hard copy, I want a complimentary copy of these magazines on the iPad. Yes, I would be willing to pay for a digital copy but not at this time; and I only wanted to experience the newspaper on iPad. Newspapers fall into the same category as magazines…do you want to pay for a subscription? I get three newspapers—Washington Post, Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal….the apps for these are available. (WSJ is free; Washington Post is $1.99; nothing on Washington Times) on my iPhone and I also get an RSS feed on my Google account for news and magazines. How many versions in any form can I read and enjoy? Books. Readability is terrific, convenience is excellent…but I still have the cost issue and the fear of someone stealing the iPad if I carry it in public places. Back to Romano’s article, he gave a very good review of the barriers to e-book adoption…you should read the article. Romano also mentioned the digital rights management issue (DRM) which addresses supposed “pirates and thieves” who may post a digital book for public use. That is another irritant to my personal enjoyment of e-books…I like to share copies with my friends and family. Frankly, I won’t give away my iPad to “lend” a book title. Or will I? BTW I did lend my iPad to someone so they...
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