Sticky note for this week’s Double Whammy.

Earlier this week, I gave an example of an un-social company. Well I found Jennifer Van Grove’s article on Mashable and thought how interesting that companies, in Client X’s industry, have been embracing social media. I love the layout to how each company is using Twitter to their advantage. Cheers to the Top 40 Best Twitter Brands and thank you Jennifer for revealing the people behind them!

Travel

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This is a big category and it’s growing every day. We’ve include airlines, hotels, a cruise ship, and even a rental car service under the travel umbrella. We admire these big brands for being bold on Twitter, and we hope that their ground-breaking efforts lead to better service for all of us who travel and know just how stressful it can be.

Jet Blue

Twitter Name: JetBlue

Jet Blue Official Tweeter: Meet Morgan Johnston, manager of corporate communications with Jet Blue. Morgan’s high flying Twitter philosophy is to tweet as the community sees fit saying, “our role on Twitter is driven by the requests of our followers. Twitter is a great way to talk to many, but even better for listening.”

Stats: 10,771 following/10,076 followers

So why is JetBlue tweeting?: “Our goal would be to make ourselves available, help whenever possible, and to show that our brand is built by real people who care about our customers.”

Most interesting Twitter discussion: “Probably being asked what our policy was on furries following an exchange http://is.gd/f1k8.” [I’m not sure what furries are, but I think it’s a Comic Con thing, and vaguely reminds me of something I saw on Entourage.]

On plans to promote the account to passengers: “Short answer: no, we want to grow naturally with the Twitter audience, long answer: We know we’re guests of the Twitter community. Inviting our own guests who might not understand how Twitter works, and only see it as a tool to talk to us is a bit presumptuous.”

A follow-up to the above question: “There are some rules and practices on Twitter that aren’t immediately obvious to new users. (following, DMs, replys) It’s hard to help when people sign up and simply say, ‘hey, when’s my flight?’ assuming we see an unaddressed tweet.”

Southwest Airlines

Twitter Name: SouthwestAir

Southwest Airlines Official Tweeter: Meet Christi Day, the emerging social media specialist at Southwest Airlines, and the gal behind the famously low fair offering and customer-friendly twittering airline. According to Christi, Southwest, an early Twitter adopter, “had been blogging for more than a year when we discovered and joined Twitter in July 2007. We were intrigued by its possibilities.”

Stats: 6,085 following/8,287 followers

On 2009 promotional opportunities via Twitter: “We will do announcements on Twitter from events…posting pics/vids. And whatever else unfolds, we’re open to ideas : )” [Twitterers take note – I think she’s hinting that they want good ideas from you]

On lessons learned: “Be honest, be real, be quick, be FUN”

When asked about internal awareness re:Twitter: “Hard to say for sure, but we promote our activity internally and encourage Employee participation.”

Spreading the Virus. (A little ironic, for me, this week)

Visit the Intern Queen. I was quoted on her blog. Scroll down. See there? @skimtheocean…yes! That’s me!

Today’s post is about high schoolers seeking internships. I have been actively involved (in my short time) with online social networking, not just out of education (cheers to Dr. V), or just out of professional practice (Sensible City embraces online social media), but because of the appreciation for how it has boosted my online presence and given me credibility as a person. I interact with hundreds of people daily who are sharing tidbits of information I pass along, stop by to read my blog, or provide me with vital information that aids me in pitching a media market! Anyway…

I was more than happy to express my fervor for the internship. I was fascinated by Clemson’s policy for Architecture students and Graphic Communication majors to get outside experience Abroad and in their free time from school. Even Packaging Science students have at least 1 co-op in their college career. I never really grasped that until the end of  my Communication Studies degree. Partially, because I have been fearful and not well prepared to see how it would be beneficial to me. That type of thinking won’t get you anywhere. Embrace curiosity and explore the unknown.

Dr. V can vouch, for me, that I was stubborn in my studies. The archaic Communication Studies program embraces thesis papers, and it’s like coming out of the dark for the first time, when she presented us with this plethora of knowledge. Comm Students, far and wide, would joke that Clemson’s program tried to crank out little professors. In practice; however, we are discovering these tools of online social media in the workplace. I am so embarrassed to say that I walked up to the plate not bringing anything to the table and I learned about these valuable tools in 2007! I always remind myself to be mindful and to continue teetering on the edge of innovation.

What I am trying to get at, is that you…Yes, you. I’m talking to Nicholas, Darline, Erica, Emily, and anyone else in high school. Put yourself out there, either online or in the world. Reach for internships and create your own personal brand in high school. Time is precious, time is money, time is wasted. We have heard all of these things before. I hope someone can grasp the need to “up the ante” because competition will be the driving motivation for you to think outside of the box before the next guy in math class beats you to it! The concept of an “internship” should not be lost you, the young ones. You should garner as much experience with the outlook of secondary education skyrocketing in cost and the possibility of shorter matriculation in college. Who knows, it may be a new way to weed-out college applicants. INTERN, INTERN, INTERN! I know I just collected my thoughts on way too many things today, but I hope you can follow the parallels of narrow thinking and open your mind a little more.

Plus, most internships are unpaid. So why not, get as much free work out of the way while you’re in your parents home? Trust me, graduating with a B.A. and working for stipend and 1 unpaid apprenticeship (my past life at a letterpress studio) was not exactly what my parents had in mind for a Clemson graduate. Go Tigers, nonetheless! To my audience, always learn from the mistakes of others! It will save you a lot of trouble in the future. The competition is getting younger and you are all smarter compared to the cronies that are looking at retirement. Utilize your skills and compete. Yesterday is the day where community service was competitive. The kindness of your heart will only get you so far. It is now the time of practical knowledge, so go out there and get it!

Post script. I am sitting in my office alone. Ian is hob-knobbing with Urban Re:vision in San Fran. Amy has an injured son. Ashley Sue is sick. Kimberly came to work and left sick. IT’S ALL MY FAULT for spreading the virus. Get it, get it? Ok, I’m done.

Double Whammy, my work post.

It has taken me a week, but I’ve crossed off everything on my to-do list, with the exception of some new spreadsheets for future efficiency. I had sublists within the master list and it’s pretty much done. The highlighted part describes a new task that I am going to spend the afternoon working on. My load lightened significantly after a school district shut my event down. I am sad to have to abide by their wishes because it was going to be a very unique story about a music program in Music Appreciation Month! The teacher and music coordinator have been so enthusiastic to host the media and show off some of their new instructional tools. Needless to say, I had to honor their wishes and play by the rules. Hopefully we  will have all of the red tape clear for a prospective event next month, I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

There is so much red tape wrapped up policy and procedure. I wonder if and when people will ever address issues, head-on, and learn to communicate! In college, I imagined that crisis communication would be a hot business because there always seems to be negative media perpetuating stories to the masses. However, that is certainly not the case. Bad press continues to be bad press and companies and school districts alike do not always deter negative messaging. They are like my mom who would, sometimes, pretend I didn’t just tell her something bad that I did. Just because you (Mr. Big-Wig Whose-a-ma-call-it) did not issue a statement doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Today, I was told of a prospective client that did not want to work with us because we are based out of the US. My informant educated me on the recent bashing that has been circulated virally through online social networking. This group, we will call Client X, is overseas and fearful of the encompassing OSN. Excuse me, Lord Proprietor of Client X, I think it would be wise for you to act within the environment that throws your name around with such disdain. Why don’t you participate in the dialogue and throw some positive conversation into the mix. How do you expect to yield positive results if you fail to give positive experiences? I say, jump into the loop and stand up for yourself. Who are you, to deem us unworthy of your contract? Americans tweet better because it is a platform that was created in America! (Excuse the patriotic tone) Who would be better to fight your battles in the realm that you so passionately said you must be apart of? Just because Americans are not your target market?! American tourists tend to jet-set around the entire continent (country-to-country where you could be expanding your business) and your good name could encourage others to patron your business and spread your good business by word of mouth and viral marketing. Above all, online social media is a strength of our company and in this day and age we are not limited by our location. Most of our clients are not even within our own state!

Your hesitance makes me less likely to refer you to my European family and friends. Your backwards thinking is not very progressive in the current marketplace and I feel like you will only succumb to issuing press releases for all the days of your life! Discrimination is not right, it’s outdated!

(Stepping off of the soap box). I wasn’t trying to be dramatic, it was the Caramel Delight GSA cookies that I’ve been eating.

Today has been a day of post scripting. I am aware of the powers that be’s need for control. I understand the concept of controlling a message. I respect the decisions you have to make, but dissonance of fears must come from some creative Googling and research. We researched you and are equipped with the ability to approach you with a gameplan. Rather than being a stick in the mud, how about being a leaf in the wind? Let the wave of viral marketing set you free to embrace others who are being blown my social network tools. Together we can strategize for positive communication and spread the joyous news of you being amiable and service-oriented. I am going to have a pull a card from my mom, though, if you fail to seek out means of positive communication, for your own benefit, then I will have to believe you aren’t doing anything to improve your uncheerful disposition and that your quality of service for your customers will continue to create pandemonium for the rest of us chatting it up on Twitter!