Just an awesome, awesome experience at the #BTVSMB (That’s Burlington Social Media Breakfast) Social Hack.  (You can learn a bit more about the event by checking out the Free Press article from yesterday’s edition – I even got a little shout out/pub in it, probably due to my eager attitude to attend the event). Ever since my first experience using the IDEO visual brainstorming method (you can read my thoughts about their method of visual brainstorming here), I have been hooked on using the design thinking approach to solving problems.

I use it with clients on business problems, and I look forward to conferences that utilize this stuff to try and solve social problems in workshops.  I find that design thinking can generate solid results in a ridiculously condensed time frame.  Today was just further confirmation of this.

In about 4 hours, teams were able to brainstorm a myriad of solutions to different local food challenges in Vermont, which were presented by the Vermont Farm to Plate initiative (part of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund), as well as some Dept of Ag peeps.  One of the most innovative sectors in Vermont has to be our food systems.  There are so many smart people here doing powerful and innovative work.  I think it is one of the shining examples of the cooperative attitude in the Vermont business community.  We are national leaders in this space, and still have opportunities to grow and innovate.  Any opportunity to add to that world (and feel a part of it for a day) makes me feel lucky to be living here in the BTV.

In just under four hours (including lunch I think!), the teams (which were filled with people that either never met before or were mere acquaintances) were able to define, ideate, prototype, and share a solution to a local food challenge.  Some of the highlights:

• A mobile CSA that would be trackable using social and gps, and would provide customized food delivery based on each customer’s preferences.
• A TurboFarm platform (great name) which would provide instant market information for farmers so that they could know how to better price their foodstuffs (and where there was a need).
• ate 0 2 (think 802 baby!), a mobile gaming platform which would allow you to source local food and get points for buying/cooking with it.  (Best name by far)
• The Core Card (part of the Apple A Day universal benefits initiative) which would provide consumers a discount on local food in exchange for data that could be shared with their employers, the State of Vermont, and insurance companies to strengthen wellness programs and reduce obesity in the workforce.
• An app which would allow people to quickly generate ideas for meals using existing stuff that they already have.
• A CSA mobile app which would allow you to find CSA’s, swap out your surplus veggies that you don’t want with someone else that might want them, AND host/attend local community dinners.

All in all, just a killer day. I had fun, worked together with a team of incredibly intelligent people, and felt like I had an opportunity to do something that mattered.  Not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon in February.

Did you go today?  What did you think?  What were the highlights for you?  Did I miss anything?  

I was tipped off to this potential when I saw Gahlord Dewald over at Thoughtfaucet post about using his iPad to generate content (notes from Mitch Joel’s discussion on digital marketing) from the #BTVSMB last August.  I attend quite a few conferences.  I take notes when I see people speak.  I like to make these notes mindmaps.  And the iPad has an awesome mindmapping app called iThoughtsHD.  This, to me, is a match made in heaven.  I now have a way that I can share my mindmapped notes with other conference goers by posting them as images on my site.

This has also helped me build connections with people, as I have been able to offer something that they wanted – notes from the conferences they attend, organized visually, and easily shareable.

It’s a great way to easily generate content for your site that people will be interested in.

Ann Handley and CC Chapman, authors of Content Rules (check out the affiliate link at the bottom of this page to purchase the book if you aren’t getting one for free for attending BTVSMB!). [pullquote]Content Rules is the best book that I have found that answers the question “What do I blog about?” [/pullquote] ]Content Rules is the best book that I have found that answers the question “What do I blog about?”(if you haven’t heard that question yet, you will soon, and now you know what to do to help them out – point them in the direction of Content Rules.

I love how accessible, informative and insightful Content Rules is (you can really hand it to anyone to help them understand how to create great content for their business).  It really isn’t a surprise that Ann and CC would be accessible, informative and insightful as well, but it was still cool to meet them and find that they were.

I had the chance to talk to them afterward, and they were both kind, warm, and appreciative.  Thanks guys!

I thought that the presentation was solid.  They touched on the main points of the book.  The presentation was really the tip of the iceberg though, so if you went to the talk today and still have questions about how you can improve your content (or how on earth to get started with creating content for your biz) I strongly suggest picking up the book.  They go into great detail about each of the rules, provide examples, and give real-life accounts and success stories.

I took mindmapped notes on their presentation and the ensuing Q & A, and am posting them here for your use and enjoyment.  My comments are, as always, in orange (as I am a ginger and it makes it easy to remember), CC’s parts are in blue, Ann’s in green, and audience questions in red.  Click on the thumbnail below twice to view the full-sized notes in your browser:

What did you think of the talk today?  Have you read Content Rules?  Used it to improve your content?

Vermont has an amazing community of businesspeople that are trying to have an impact and change our world for the better – there is something about the shared values of this state that make it so. We live in a beautiful place, and there is a shared sense that we want to keep it that way. I am hopeful that Vermont will continue to show the world the way sustainable businesses can truly make a difference (and still be financially successful). I always feel like I am rubbing elbows with the leaders of social and environmental change at these events. [pullquote]I always feel like I am rubbing elbows with the leaders of social and environmental change at VBSR events.[/pullquote] For me, it is, as they say, “good stuff.”

VBSR is also a diverse and inspiring group. This was apparent today in the bookend speakers. From Joe Sibilia, a street-smart straight-shooter (he actually wrote the book on Street Smart Sustainability) who talked about changing his corner of the world in Springfield, MA, to Bill Schubart, a loquacious critic of extreme political viewpoints who gently reminded us to focus on the “art of the possible”, we were treated to an inspirational day of speakers and panels.

I think these mindmaps give a little window into the conference, and I hope you enjoy reading them over as much as I enjoyed taking them!  Click on them twice to view them in full screen on your computer.

These events are always interesting and thought provoking (and fun, usually), and today was no exception.  Sara and Anthony were both on point, and shared helpful tips for those that are considering either becoming a community manager, hiring one, or developing one internally.  Nothing outrageous or brand new, but some interesting insight and perspective from the inside of two very different organizations.

I agreed with more or less everything that they shared, particularly the big picture stuff (using tools to listen, reach out, connect, provide value, etc.)  There were only two things either said that I had a different perspective/take on, and would like to share those with you:

One was that an organization that is using social media tools and managing their community doesn’t need to be concerned with ROI – that it should be about building community and making connections.  I agree with the building community and making connections part, but this effort has to be rooted somewhere in the strategic plan of the business.  If we want to continue to be able to make strides in using these tools, we are definitely going to need to be able to show the business case for it, and show a return at some point).  These “metrics” may not be easily defined or pulled out of website data gathering.  That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, can’t be created, and can’t be tracked.  Creating and tracking this takes a bit of creativity, as there is not always a clear causal relationship between building a community (or connecting with customers) and increasing sales.  We, as social media champions, need to do a better job of making the business case for using the tools by using the language that managers expect to help make decisions.[pullquote] We, as social media champions, need to do a better job of making the business case for using the tools by using the language that managers expect to help make decisions.[/pullquote]

The other point I had a different take on was that using mobile devices to post was somehow inherently unsafe or unstable.  All the tools that we use can at times be inherently unsafe and/or unstable (particularly third party apps like Tweetdeck).  We use these apps and tools to broadcast.  We should spend more time making sure that what we broadcast is kind, necessary, important, and helpful than worrying about the inherent stability of the tool.  The example given was the Chrysler twitter person drops the f-bomb fiasco, which I think was more about making an incredibly bad decision to post something that was neither kind, necessary, important, or helpful than it was about making a mistake about which account was used because the mobile twitter app has login challenges.  The bigger lesson in this example for me is about the importance of editing what we share, and paying close attention to what we are doing when we communicate online.  I think that I agree with the speaker fundamentally, I just saw some differences in the Chrysler case (and using mobile devices to post).

So that was what I had a different take on – only fair to share what I agreed with.  My key takeaway?  If you want to be a community manager, you have to be passionate about what you do – and then use that passion to drive you to build your skills.  It’s also worth noting that both speakers were able to communicate what a Community Manager should do – and, if you walked in with no knowledge of what a CM is or what they should do, you would have walked out having a pretty firm handle on this stuff.

The event was, as always, a blast.  I appreciated hearing some different perspectives, and different language to describe what we do.  Sara and Anthony both shared their perspective and insight, and I think they did an excellent job of discussing what their daily operations look like.  As for language, I love that Boloco calls their meet ups over Burritos “Burrit-ups”.  Classic. [pullquote]I love that Boloco calls their meet ups over Burritos “Burrit-ups”.  Classic.[/pullquote] Another classic language moment came from the audience.  Sara shared that Boloco responds to every tweet and comment.  An audience member asked how they can possibly respond to “every piece of tweet.”  I guess that is a matter of perspective as well.

The mindmaps follow below.  As always, these are taken “in the moment” and are meant to quickly capture the information that the speakers share and loosely organize it in a way that can be helpful to someone who was there (or give an idea of what was covered to someone that couldn’t make it).  They aren’t meant to be perfect, just give a visual representation of what was discussed.  Business thoughts and insights shared by Anthony and Sara are in Blue, personal stuff they shared about themselves is in green, and my editorial comments are in orange.

(EDIT:  Check out more mindmaps and thoughts on the BTVSMB Community Management event from the Thoughtfaucet apprentice Brett Chalupa!)

Did you go this morning?  What was your key takeaway?  What questions went unanswered?

Morgan Johnston from Jetblue (@morganjohnston) and Bill Gerth from Comcast (@comcastbill) visited Burlington to talk about their work.  The theme of the discussion (actually, it was more of a lecture than a discussion, as there was time for only a handful of questions from the crowd) was “Social Media and Customer Service.”

Most of the information shared was basic customer service “golden rule” stuff, but one thing that Bill shared really resonated with me.

Comcast is using video to provide tech support (actually, they are using Apple’s FaceTime). For example, they will connect on FaceTime and have customers show the back of their routers and the cords that they are trying to plug in to help them get sorted out.  That’s just killer.  I hadn’t thought of doing that, nor have I heard of other people doing that.  If you provide any sort of telephone tech support, this is a great idea.  Very cool.

My full mindmap of Bill and Morgan’s talk is below.  Things that I thought were key takeaways for me are highlighted in green.  Bill’s talk is in orange, and Morgan’s, of course, is in Blue.  Click on the pic to see a bigger version, or download the pdf using the link below the pic!

Burlington Social Media Breakfast (Download PDF)

What did you think?  What were your key takeaways?

This panel was very interesting – but it also didn’t dive into some of the deeper issues that were surfacing in the discussion.  Justin Higgins from Chevron was there, and did address the Yes Men campaign (good), but he was also dismissive of the campaign as being “stunts and rhetoric.” (maybe not so much).

Clearly, the campaign is a bit of a stunt.  But it also shows that:

1. People care about his company and
2. They want something different.

The actual Chevron “We Agree” campaign does not deliver that, it seems to be merely trying to put a sunshiney face on what they are currently up to.  This is not authentic deep change, which is okay – companies don’t need to change if they don’t want to.  When a company doesn’t make changes internally but puts an outward-facing campaign out there touting what they are doing, I think that it is a marketing failure.  Additionally, it is the company’s responsibility to listen to their stakeholders.

Rather than dismissing it, I think that a more appropriate response to the Yes Men campaign would be:

1. Acknowledge the underlying truths that are there.  (If you check out the campaign, it’s not particularly nasty or anything, it shows that people want more safety from their oil companies.  This is not too much to ask.  Chevron should talk about what they are doing.)
2. Admit that it’s pretty funny, and that they did get punk’d.  It’s okay to have that happen once in a while.  No one is perfect.
3. Invite participation and conversation around the differences (and similarities) between the actual campaign and what the Yes Men put out

So, that being said, it was truly wonderful that Chevron is there in the room to be a part of the conversation.  I would say that this has been a hallmark of the conference – there are as many corporations here that you would not expect to be (Chevron, Nestle) as there are that you would (Honest Tea, Stonyfield).

I took a mindmap of this session as well.  There was some great stuff in here, but I really thought that the Chevron campaign stuff was the most interesting.  Interesting stuff from @chevron, @tpemurphy of Microsoft, and @MktingHipster of AngelPoints.  Check it out here:

What do you think?  Does a marketing plan need to be authentic (and embrace the sunshine) to be effective in today’s day and age?

The title of the talk was “Corporate Responsibility 2020: The Future of Sustainable Business,” and I feel that the panel was designed and moderated in a way that gave a pretty good vision of what that actually might look like – no small task.  The panel consisted of Susan M. Cischke, from Ford Motor Company, Aron Cramer from Business for Social Responsibility, and Rose Kirk from Verizon.  It was moderated by Liz Maw, ED of Net Impact – and she did a fantastic job moving the conversation along and reigning the questions in – no easy feat.  Aron brought what I would consider to be the more widely held sustainability lens to the conversation, and Rose and Susan brought the more traditional corporate lens.

This was not a hard-core deep green panel, with Aron representing the most traditional (interesting to use that term in this context!  Shows how far we have come in trying to implement social consciousness into the biz world.  Good stuff!) view of CSR and responsibility.  His comments all were in line with what I would have expected him to say – preaching modesty and moderation, and urging people to think about the deeper systemic issues and challenges that we are facing.

The surprising part of the panel?  Just how impressive Rose and Susan’s points were.  They demonstrated deep knowledge of the systemic issues that we are facing. They clearly understand the pragmatic implementation of CSR into traditional corporate culture.  Both talked about the importance of having the backing and vision of their leaders at the C-level, and I think that Rose and Susan are living that vision.

You can read my mindmap of the conversation below.  The questions and Susan’s comments are in blue, Rose’s comments are in green, and Aron’s are in orange.

I was inspired.  Check out the mindmap and let me know what you think.

Where do you think sustainable business is heading in the next decade?

There were some great local presenters, and I think that there was something for more or less anyone that attended the event – from marketing professionals, to non-profit peeps, to businesses with e-commerce sites.

There seemed to be a lot of people from small businesses that were there to learn more about how they could improve/expand their web marketing efforts.  The speaking crew, however, mostly work on a bigger scale – (mywebgrocer, Seventh Generation, and Gardener’s Supply all are pretty big operations.)

I think it’s great to learn from what the biggest and best are doing – and then take that and scale it down to the size of your organization.  I would much rather hear about how Gardener’s Supply is managing email lists and campaigns, for example, than a smaller business – because Gardener’s Supply is huge, and is dependent on the email marketing to drive their revenue.

My key takeaway from the conference is the realization that the basics of search, web, email, and social marketing are all scaleable.  The concepts are the same, regardless of the volume.

If I had to choose a theme for the conference, it would have been “The Bullhorn is Dead, Long Live The Laser Pointer.”  Blasting people with information doesn’t work any more.  Choosing your spots with laser-pointer like focus is the new marketing method that works.

The Presentations

To try and provide some value to those that went to the conference and those that couldn’t make it, I made mindmaps of the presentations to share.  Here is a brief description of each, and links to the mindmaps:

• Chris Middings’ (@cmiddings) from Seventh Generation gave what was for me, the highlight of the conference, a great talk on search marketing.  I think he did a great job making search marketing accessible for regular people.  That is pretty dense content, and it’s really tough to gear it to a generalized audience.  Chris did a great job in presenting basic and specific information that can help any business, regardless of scale.  Search Marketing Done Right, indeed.
  • This is the mindmap of his talk on Search Marketing, entitled “Search Marketing Done Right.
  • You can also check out the actual presentation on Chris Middings’ Slide Share page.
• Max Harris (@maxyh) from Gardener’s Supply shared what they are doing for email marketing.  It is very, very sophisticated and interesting.  The key concept that I saw for small business owners is to take away from his presentation is to target specific groups of people within your lists with specific messages.  Don’t just blast people with content that doesn’t apply to them.  They also truly understand their customer and community.  It shows in the way Max lights up when he talks gardening supplies and gardeners!
  • This is the mindmap of his talk, entitled “Integrated Email Campaigns and Listening to the Voice of The Customer.”
• Tom Funk (@tomfunk) from Timberline Interactive talked about web design best practices, usability, and landing page optimization.  Some interesting stuff in here.  Key concepts are to test, test, test what works, and to make your site easy to use (and not make you think.)
  • This is the mindmap of his talk, entitled “Web Design Best Practices, Usability and Landing Page Optimization.”
• Bibi Mukherjee (@wookiesam) of Curve Trends Marketing tied all of this stuff together by talking about metrics.  Measure, Measure, Measure I would say is her mantra.  She shared some great tools for measuring what’s happening on your website.  I think she would be really disappointed to find out that you have a website and don’t have Google Analytics installed.
  • This is the mindmap of her talk, entitled “”Actionable Web Analytics – The Key to Data Driven Business”
• Dr. Elaine Young (@ejyoung67), a prof at Champlain College, gave a great talk about Social Media strategy.  She too shared some great tools, check them out on her blog at www.ejyoung.com She covered all of the basics, and gave a great overview of key SM concepts – measure, schedule time for it, it’s not free, and it’s a conversation that you need to be a part of.  My favorite point that she had was that businesses need to make SM an expectation of employees:  “I not only encourage you to participate on SM, I expect you to.  I want you to have Facebook and a Twitter platform open on your desktop when I walk by.”  Great stuff.
  • This is the mindmap of her talk, entitled “Designing Your Social Media Strategy.”
• Alec Newcomb, of mywebgrocer, gave a great talk on what mywebgrocer is up to.  Two key takeaways are that “local” and “mobile” seem to be the two directions that web marketing is headed.  Good to know.  These two concepts were worth the price of admission to me.
  • Check out the mindmap of his keynote talk here.

All in all, it was a great conference.  I am hoping to attend the 2nd Annual Vermont Web Marketing Summit next year!  On a side note, if you attended the conference this year, and would like more help in developing a digital marketing strategy,  check out my special offer for attendees that I am offering through the end of next week.

Did you attend?  Do you have anything to share about your experience?  If you didn’t attend, is there anything you would like to know?

images via flickr/bobw235 and flickr/bruceturner