Social Media – Rules of Engagement for 2012
I come from a military background. 13 generations of a REALLY flat learning curve. During my 16 years in the service, I learned a lot of things, but not many of the “combat” oriented ones were transferable into civilian life. Turns out that employers get REALLY upset with you, if you treat customers like “the enemy”. Since I have been involved in Social Media, however, I have discovered that one important piece of my combat training can be applied in my post-uniform days; Rules of Engagement.
Wikipedia’s definition of Rules of Engagement (ROE) is responses that are permitted in the employment of military personnel during operations or in the course of their duties. After spending a few years watching Twitter and other Social Media feeds, I found that some military rules of engagement can be used or modified for those who decide to use Social Media to get their point across. Here are my Top Ten Rules of Social Media Engagement.
1.) Tactical advantage favours the consumer. Never under estimate their numbers and know your audience before any counter attack. Better yet, avoid a counter attack.
2.) You have the right to return fire if fired upon. However, make sure you know who is shooting at you, first.
3.) Know the difference between a warning shot and an actual attack. Remember that one can easily turn in the other, if not handled properly.
4.) The blast zone of a Tweet is 100x the area of what you think it is. Think of the collateral damage before throwing it out there.
5.) The best intel on your competition comes from following your competition.
6.) If an ally is attacked, support with caution. The goal is to support, not become a casualty.
7.) Sometimes it’s better to observe, than to engage.
8.) The best campaign is the one where ALL the players know the goal and their role in the operation.
9.) Thoughtful debate trumps passionate argument.
10.) Treat all persons with dignity and respect. The Internet never forgets.
These rules are my own, but they have managed to keep me out of trouble for the past few years. If you are into social media, or responsible for managing social media accounts, give them a try.
Game Changer
For the past few years I have been a strong advocate of Social Media and what it can / could do for our community. This year it has been really exciting to see all the new people and businesses in Campbell River getting online and connected into things like Facebook and Twitter. If you had told me a year ago, however, that showing one person the power of Social Media would result in my community getting international attention and support for one of our local causes, I probably would have given you my best “sure, buddy” smile and wondered if you had gone of your meds.
Man, do I LOVE being proven wrong.
During the 2nd Annual River Relief Truck Food Bank drive (Dec 2010), I stopped in to see the Dave Reynolds, 99.7 The River Morning Show host and creator of the River Relief Truck, as he tried to stay warm in a 43ft tractor trailer that was slowly filling up with food for the food bank. I asked him if he would mind if I did a little Twitter campaign to support his effort. “Sure”, he said. “What is that?” Dave had a Twitter account, but didn’t really use or understand it. Still, ever the guy to try new things; he let me have at ‘er.
8 Days later, the trailer was full, more had been collected, in both food and money, than the year previous, and Dave had a new understanding of “this Social Media thing”.
To say that Dave “embraced” social media would be like saying Facebook is “kinda” popular. He dove in, head first, the way a kid does with a new toy. Within 6 months, the radio station was connected with Twitter and Facebook pages, and he was growing a following on Twitter that was nothing short of remarkable, with a leap from 20 followers to over 1500, in the blink of an eye. This was, in no small part, a result of his following and taking part with folks in the #usguys stream, a group of passionate Social Media users and professionals, who talk about everything under the sun. By the end of the summer (2011), he had people from all over North America listening to his morning show, broadcast over the Internet, taking requests via Twitter and giving Shout Outs to many of his #usguys followers.
Dave did more than just follow, retweet and reply to those he followed (or were following him) on Social Media. He actually went out of his way to meet them in person. Events in Montreal and Nashville further fed his desire to develop his social media presence, but for a reason that was so unlike many media celebrities. Dave understood what it could do for his adopted home of Campbell River.
As time rolled around to the 3rd Annual River Relief Truck, Dave became determined to show the power of Social Media by engaging his many followers in the #usguys stream to join him in his food bank effort. An annual event that previously had only a little local media coverage and regular updates on local radio was now going to get the full Social Media treatment. Live video feeds, Facebook posts, Flickr photo gallery, YouTube videos, blog posts and, of course, Twitter updates on almost a minute-by-minute basis. A local Web developer put together a new Food Bank Website and online donation system; #usguys follower posted blogs of their own and retweeted everything Dave sent out. Barely hours into the first day, people on Twitter were changing their avatars to his stations logo, to show their support. People from all over North America were showing the love for the Food Bank and Campbell River.
For a media celebrity, Dave sucks at self-promotion. He promotes his causes, community, station and clients better than most people I know, but sits quietly humble when it’s time to toot his own horn. As I write this, it is Day 6 of the 3rd Annual River Relief Truck, and Dave’s efforts to fill a trailer that is 10ft longer than the one used last year is coming to fruition. Both the Campbell River and Social Media communities stepped up in a very big way and are making it a success. What cannot be forgotten, when the shelves are full and the needy are fed, is that it is due to the big heart and the tireless work of one man, who led many, to do good for the community.
Thanks, Dave, for a job MORE than well done.
There is Economic Development and then there is Rivercorp
You will never find me saying that a community like ours does not need a person(s) to look after the economic development opportunities for us, especially in trying times like these. With so many opportunities lost and so many more on the horizon, having a body there to manage, organize and pursue those opportunities is an absolute. So why do I bash away at Rivercorp? Because they are simply failing at the basic premise of their job.
An EDO (Economic Development Officer) would have his or her ear to the ground, constantly looking for opportunities that have even the remotest potential for the community they represent, weeding out the ones that have the least likelihood of success and going all out on the ones that do bear the signs of coming together. With a $1.3 Billion dollar BC Hydro project in our future, one that is supposed to last 5 years and use about 2,000 person years to complete, you cannot tell me that there will not be any economic development spin-off on that project that will benefit the community. Yet when the Mayor shows his support for Rivercorp, he talks about their involvement in getting 15 new DFO jobs here (which was minimal, at best) and their efforts to secure the hosting of Stage 2 in the BC Bike Race (which they also had little to do with). No mention of them working with BC Hydro to act as a conduit in support of contractors supplying personnel and material to the project from outside the community. No mention of how they plan to add the project into their marketing materials or how they plan to work with BC Hydro to create some local promotion spin-off. Nothing.
We did, however, get a recommendation to twin with a Chinese city to help promote our wood products.
And what about the forestry industry? There has been a great deal of talk about their Forestry Task Force and their efforts to re-build and promote the industry here in Campbell River. Rivercorp’s Q1 newsletter even talks about the Campbell River Forest Districts annual harvest estimates, which are anticipated to grow in the next few years. Yet they appear to have been trumped by a local newspaper when it comes to the news about possible $1.03 Billion buyout of Timberwest and the discussion that the two pension funds looking at the investment are doing it with an eye on developing a bio-energy / wood pellet production facility on the old sawmill site. In the newspaper coverage, there is no mention of Rivercorp facilitating anything to help that sale go through or that they are putting together any type of strategy on what to capitalize on should the deal go through.
At least they are working with the Mayor to secure a “large” donation from TELUS for the new Rotary Water Park.
Now, I am not part of the inner-circle when it comes to what is going on behind those closed doors. Maybe they are in secret conversations with all of these groups (there is a line in the newsletter that says “speaking to multiple investors about opportunities in Campbell River, but that sounds like “other duties as required” in an employment contract), but considering that they are talking about future plans for the Catalyst site, I doubt that they would pass up the opportunity to toot their own horn about potential new manufacturing facilities or Hydro project off-shoots. No, I think it is more likely that they either felt there wasn’t an opportunity to be had or that they missed it in the wind all together. Either way, the Mayors support for this organization is misplaced at best and certainly does not represent the interests of the community or the taxpayers footing their bill.
The Earth Shaking Reality.
I went through the provincial emergency preparedness site. It wasn’t there. I went through the federal preparedness site. Not there either. Of course, it wasn’t in the regional preparedness site, but they take their lead and info from the other two, so no surprise there. In fact, in the 15 years that I have been a part of or watched Earthquake preparedness, I have rarely even seen it mentioned, yet it is one of the first things mentioned after a quake happens; what to do with the dead.
Someone once told me that disaster preparedness is not for the weak of heart. For all the planning to survive, no one seems to spend any time dealing with those who will not. As much as we would hope that a major quake would hit and no one would be injured or killed, that is about as likely as a quake not hitting the west coast somewhere down the road. Everyone who talks about an earthquake kit will tell you what you need in it to survive for 72 hours (although I suggest being able to survive on your own for twice that long), yet they never seem to mention about what you need or what you should do if you have to survive along with the body of a deceased family member or neighbor. As morbid as it may sound, a good portion of us may have to do just that. Even if you have the ability to protect the body and move it to a safe and secure place, do you have any idea where that is? No, because neither do the people dealing with the planning.
The very thought of losing my wife or children to a disaster is an almost unbearable one. If it does happen, however, I need to be able to protect those who survive and part of that is making sure that a nearby corpse is not putting their health in danger. As it is illegal to own a body bag, I have a tarp and duct tape to serve that purpose. I have a folding shovel, masks, gloves and all the other items needed to ensure that a body is handled with care, safety and respect. Above all, I have a wish that I do not have to use any of those items for that purpose.
With the death toll in New Zealand still fresh in our minds and the rising toll in Japan in front of us, we need to be sure that we all understand that we are not immune from potential loss of loved ones and neighbours, or the responsibility of taking care of them when they are gone.
Chinese, anyone?
Almost 30 years ago, the City of Campbell River twinned with the City of Ishikari in Japan. Since then there have been all kinds of arts and cultural exchanges, including, most recently, our council heading to Japan for their Salmon Festival and their council coming here for our Canada Day. It’s all very nice and friendly. Is the relationship economically and financially beneficial for us? No, not really.
So now the City of Campbell River, with the recommendation of their Rivercorp run Forestry Task Force, has approved the idea of twinning with a city in China. The “Task force members felt that any opportunity to create economic development opportunities with China, for Campbell River, would be positive.” I am sure that it would be, if we had a single person working at Rivercorp or City Hall that had any clue as to how to deal with the Chinese in an economic development capacity.
The Campbell River Mirror noted: “Canada is also an approved tourism destination for Chinese nationals and with B.C. geographically situated as the gateway to China and Asia, there is a big opportunity for local tourism businesses and operators to take advantage of.” That little gem happened back in December 2009. Well over a year has passed and I don’t recall anything about Tourism Campbell River and Region building a tourism package for China. Right now there are all kinds of Chinese visitor to BC, but I haven’t seen a tour bus pass through here with them on it.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that many tour buses in town, full of Japanese tourist, either.
A quote from the same paper noted: “With the provincial government’s efforts in promoting wood construction using BC forest products, Campbell River would be ideally suited to attract investor interest in forest products from our area. The abundance of timber, a solid contractor and supplier base and the location of regional offices for Interfor, Western Forest Products and TimberWest, make Campbell River an ideal twinning community”. Perhaps I am wrong, but aren’t these the same companies that scaled down or closed a lot of their operations in this area, while they ship raw logs to, wait for it, China? Someone is being had here, and I think it’s us.
Here is what I see happening. There were be a lot of time and money, probably a consultant or two, involved with finding the right City to twin with in China. There will be a trip (or two) to meet with and build the relationship with the chosen City. There will be cultural and artistic exchanges. We will build a new display case at City hall, to show off these cultural artifacts and we will proudly tout our relationship with this City a world away from us. And we won’t see a nickel of investment. Why? Aside from having some fantastic Chinese restaurants and some really great locals of Chinese decent, we don’t have a very large Chinese community. Aside from a tourism adventure, some great vacation homes and a lot of lumber, we don’t have much of anything that would be attractive to the Chinese investor.
So what is that this City Task Force thinks it can do, that the Province of British Columbia has not been able to do, when it comes to building Chinese investment? When did they become versed in international trade relations? When did any of them learn to speak Mandarin or Cantonese? If someone could let me know when all of this happened, I am sure I would be more confident in its success.
For the Campbell River Mirror article, click here
Not Vote Splitting. Vote Shifting.
We have all heard it. Voting for the Conservatives will split the centre-right vote and get the NDP elected. It’s like a mantra, yet we hear over and over again, “I’m tired of the BC Liberals and I don’t trust the NDP”. I kind of thought the answer was obvious, until I run into the mantra again.
Consider this, though. In 2001, the NDP was almost wiped off the political map. Their leader left in less than desirable position, leaving a new leader in place to clean up the mess left behind and re-engage with their supporters. Sound familiar?
Today the NDP are still in disarray. They still have their union paid president, an interim leader who is fighting with the leader of the dissidents and a leadership candidate, with a questionable history in the NDP, starting off his campaign with a bunch of questionable memberships. Is it not possible that those who voted for the BC Liberals in 2001, might just do that again in 2013?
And what if they do? Chances are they will do it because the BC Liberals started to lean decidedly centre-left with the strongly Liberal leader. Where does that leave the small c conservatives in the coalition? Do you see where I am going with this?
A BC Conservative Party on the ballot might not split the vote; it might just shift it. Moderate NDP move to the new, truly, BC Liberal party and the coalition conservatives following their ideology back to a revived conservative party in BC. Where does that leave the NDP? Sitting with fewer seats in the Legislature, watching someone else be the official opposition.
What do you think? We want to know!
