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Please change your bookmarks, favorites, etc, accordingly!

Social Media Slim-Down

THE BUZZ HAS MOVED!  PLEASE GO TO WWW.THEBUZZBYMIKESCHAFFER.COM!

It’s not even January 1 and the scale is not too kind.  A season of splurging in food after my wedding, eating my way through Thailand and several large orders of movie popcorn wrecked havoc on my waistline.

And I know I’m not alone.  We all gain weight during the holidays.

Blame the Thanksgiving stuffing, candy dishes, Mint Chocolate M&Ms (I do!), carb-loaded meals, they all add up to give us 6-8 weeks of gross eating habits.  And, as the weather turns unbearable in many parts of the world, exercise just doesn’t happen.  (My poor dog rarely gets a good morning or evening walk these days!)

However, we can lose the weight and we can do it together.

So I came up with the Social Media Slim-Down!  (#SMSD, for the Twitter types!)  This is the first all-electronic weight-loss support group for anyone and everyone!

I am NOT a trainer or a diet/weight-loss expert, I’m just a guy looking to drop 15-20 lbs. before beach season.  I feel like a “before” photo…and I’m sure I look like one, too.

Here are the guidelines:

1) I don’t care what you weigh.  Don’t tell me.  Don’t want to know.

2) DM me on Twitter (@mikeschaffer) or send me an email (michaelgschaffer@gmail.com) on Monday morning with how much weight you lost that week.  For record-keeping purposes, I’ll maintain a database with each person’s weight loss, but will not make it public, unless you want me to share your number.

3) First weigh-in will be Monday, January 4 (use today as your base day, sorry for the short week!)

4) I’ll tally up the results and share how much weight was lost each week.

5) You can join in at any time!  Invite friends and family to join in, even if they aren’t on any social media networks.  All I need is the weight loss each week!

6) Please use pounds as measurements!  My conversion skills are horrific.

7) If enough people are interested, we can do events in various cities!

Who will join me in this on-going campaign?

Follow the Slim-Down on Facebook, too!

PR & The Ninja Turtles

This post was co-conceptualized and co-written with the exceptionally awesome Sheema Siddiqi.  Read more at her blog here and follow her on Twitter.

If you are anything like us, when you think of teams, you think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  From comic books to TV shows to movies to toys, the Turtles have been a pop culture sensation for more than two decades now and a huge influence on more than one generation of kids and teenagers.

They are among our favorite characters and a true microcosm of a Public Relations/Marketing team!

Don’t believe us?  Let’s take a closer look.

Master Splinter – Master Splinter discovered the young turtles and nurtured them as youths and trained them to become the team they are today.  At this point in his life, he is a man of words, and prefers not to be involved in the day-to-day action.  However, if the situation calls for it, he will insert – and assert – himself!

Splinter is like the CEO of your company.  The sage leader with decades of experience, he or she probably put the team together and has helped you grow for quite some time.  They take pride in watching you excel, but isn’t afraid to jump in if you need a hand. They have the keen ability to balance good judgment with the ability to take risks. In most cases, the CEO can act as a role model for how to act in various situations as well as set the tone for entire company.

Leonardo – Every team needs a leader, and Leonardo is just that.  He makes the tough decisions, based on what’s best for the group and their mission. Beyond leading the team, Leo is also a master swordsman. He fronts the team in responsibility and by example.

The leader of your PR team should be experienced, calm and mature.  They should be able to look beyond themselves and manage everyone for the greater good.  Like Leonardo, they bring something unique and special to the table. The leader should motivate the team by displaying confidence and passion for their work and encouraging them to use their individual talents. Most good leaders do more listening than talking- its crucial to listen to the needs of your client, as well as any issues the rest of your team may have. Leonardo has to make tough decisions.  Leaders, like their CEOs, aren’t afraid to take risks in order to accomplish goals.

Donatello – While Leonardo may lead the team, Donatello is their chief problem solver.  As a master technician, he sees the world differently from the rest of the team – he understands cause and effect.  Ironically, while he develops the hi-tech gadgets to meet any challenge, he himself uses the bo stick, the simplest of weapons.

Somethin’ strange in your neighborhood?  Who ya’ gonna call?  Well, you have Ghostbusters PR and TMNT PR.  You need a crisis PR expert on your team to make sure they call TMNT and not a dude named Egon. The crisis PR expert needs to stay calm while the client is freaking out, and the good ones like Donatello will have a plan in place just in case disaster strikes. He’s got a “can do” attitude and is able to shift perspectives and see every side of the problem. That Donatello uses a stick is a good reminder that the old KISS adage (Keep It Simple, Stupid) works best when crisis strikes.

Raphael – While some people call Raphael “cool, but rude,” he is a true maverick.  He works outside the box – and sometimes outside the law – to get the job done.  His methods are unconventional and his attitude is brash…and let’s not get into the danger surrounding his sai weapons.  While Raphael is  the “maverick”, he’s also extremely loyal to the team and would never sabotage the team.The bottom line is this: while he may be the social pariah of the group, he gets the job done.  His customer service skills may be lacking, but the proof is in the pudding.

Like Raphael, it is important to approach projects from differing viewpoints and perspectives.  If everyone on your team looked at every issue the same way, it would be hard to grow your skillset.  Sometimes you need someone around you who will rock the boat and think outside the box. Raphael may need some guidance from Master Splinter and his PR team, but he’s a work in progress.  If he can merge his creativity with a positive attitude and learn to play by (some) rules, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the PR world.

Michelangelo – Mikey seems to be the least sophisticated member of the group.  He is always looking for a hot slice of pizza, which puts the other Turtles in danger from time to time.  Despite his supposed immaturity, he adds a different element to the team, with exuberance, energy and excitement.  He may not be the most precise in his execution, but he works his tail off and tries to get better every day.

Most every PR team should have some youth on it, be it a recent entry level hire or interns.  The passion to prove themselves that they can bring to the table is a powerful motivator for the rest of the crew.  Nobody is even half-perfect on Day One, but someone willing to work as hard as possible for the project deserves a spot at the table.  An entry-level PR or intern will struggle with an inner conflict- on one hand, they want to prove themselves and impress their PR team. On the other hand, they want to act as a sponge, soaking in all the information on clients. They will need to most guidance from the team, but have the potential to flourish into a successful PR professional.

April O’Neill – The big hotshot TV reporter helps the Turtles when she can, be it information or pizza.  She is powerful in the media and knows how to portray the heroes properly, even when the public is scared.

Above all else, April is a branding and trends specialist- she’s “in the know” and has an idea of what people expect from each of the clients.  It’s critical that the PR efforts match the overall marketing strategy for the client or project.  On the other hand, April is a community manager, able to influence opinions of others.  You need to have an experienced team-member who understands how to maximize social networks, as well as integrate them into a larger PR campaign. You’d trust April to expand and promote your brand, wouldn’t you?

Shredder – The arch-nemesis of the Turtles, Shredder is a true master warrior.  Although he has surrounded himself with an army of Foot Soldiers to do his bidding, he is as dangerous as it gets in a one-on-one situation.  While the Turtles have to know who they are, it’s critical to understand your enemy and their motivations – that’s the only way you can stop him!

While you don’t want the evil Shredder on your team of warriors, he does represent your team’s competition and distractions.  You must be aware of any threats, such as competing agencies, internal issues and, of course, super villains! The best way to defeat Shredder is to work together as a team, bring out the best in each other, and develop a PR/marketing campaign that kicks butt!

So there you have it: assembling your PR team is no easy feat, but it’s important to realize that if the “Master Splinter” in your life can bring out the best  in each member, then Shredder better watch his back! Who knew you could learn some huge lessons from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?!

And now we leave you with The Ninja Rap!

Invictus – A Review

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

- “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley

This is the poem at the center of the new Clint Eastwood-directed film, “Invictus.”

The plot centers around the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and how South African President Nelson Mandela looked to the team to unify a nation still fractured from the Apartheid era.

While I am not a film reviewer, nor do I play one on TV, this was a terrific movie.

Freeman, Eastwood and Damon (via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42811593@N08/4174169289/)

It’s based on a true story, so there isn’t much I could do to spoil the plot, especially since the story is fairly paint-by-numbers.

However, that is where Eastwood’s brilliant direction and the superior performance of Morgan Freeman take us on a journey.  Matt Damon plays the captain of the rugby team, raised in a family that, typical of the time and place, has very racist tendancies.

Damon and Freeman deliver superstar performances, but the magic of the movie is viewing the rise of Mandela and the Rugby team through the eyes of the nation.  Specifically, a little boy and Mandela’s mixed-race security team, captivate, as their subplots serve as a microcosm for the greater South Africa.

I think the best thing I can say about the movie is that it has made me very curious about the truth behind the Hollywood interpretation.  If even half of Mandela’s actions in the movie are steeped in truth, I would gain even MORE respect for him.  The way he guides his nation through humanity and decency, especially when vengeance and domination would have been entirely justified, is beyond incredible.  Definitely worth seeing…and I’m going to go search for the book it’s based on right now!

Also, in the biggest geek-out moment of the movie, before the South African team plays the New Zealand All-Blacks, we get to see a Haka, the ancient Maori tribal war dance the All-Blacks use to intimidate opponents before matches!  Take a look at what one looks like:

Honeymoon Videos

First, get your mind out of the gutter!

Second, enjoy these videos taken on my recent honeymoon to Thailand (including a hilarious airport layover in Tokyo!)

We get to the Tokyo  airport and what’s the first thing we see??

Oh, it gets better in Tokyo:

Fire-Juggling in Thailand!

Me on a long slide to nowhere at the infamous Full Moon Party

And my personal favorite video, three “ladyboys” (local slang for men living as women) lip-syncing to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.”  What makes it even better is that it was filmed at a Muay Thai boxing event!  The ladyboys were between-fight entertainment!

PR Buzz – 5 Customer Service Lessons

Customer service is the center of business.  Treat your customers well and they will be happy, thus, in theory, become repeat and loyal customers.

Sounds fairly basic, right?

And yet, here I am, waiting for the DC Water Authority…for a second straight day.  Let me timeline this out for you, and hopefully give businesses a how-not on customer service.

Thursday – I log on to my online bill and see my water bill is ELEVEN times what it should be.  That’s bad.  So I call the number listed on DC Water’s website.  Of course, that number is NOT the Customer Service number and the person who answered seemed peeved I called that number.

Customer Service Lesson #1 – Make your customer service contact information prominent.  Most of your incoming calls, no matter what your industry, will revolve around customer service!

I actually had a terrific person help me that day.  She agreed that the numbers seemed horribly wrong.  She scheduled an appointment for Monday (between 8am-Noon) to have a home auditor take a look and see what the problem was.  In addition to that, she put a freeze on my account, so I wouldn’t be charged late fees for not paying that astronomically-high bill.

Customer Service Lesson #2 – Think like your customer.  How would they want the problem handled?  Do those things, within reason.

Friday through Sunday – Washington, DC, is pummelled with the 6th-largest snowstorm in recorded history!

Digging out from the SnowPocalypse!

Monday 8:15am – I call DC Water’s CORRECT Customer Service line to confirm they are still coming today.  Of course, with the SnowPocalypse, I didn’t expect them to keep the appointment, but, shockingly, they said they would be there!

Monday 11:40am – With the Noon endtime approaching, I called Customer Service to get an ETA on their arrival, so I could go and try to dig my car out of the 3 FEET of ice encasing it (good times!).  The representative was rude and combative when I asked a simple question:  “It is currently 11:40am…are you still planning to come by noon?”

He snapped that, “Yes, we established the parameters when we scheduled your appointment last week!”

My response: “What will happen if you aren’t there by noon?”

Representative: “It isn’t noon yet, so you don’t have a problem.”  Yikes!

Customer Service Lesson #3 – Snapping at customers is not a good way to handle simple questions.  Try responding with something like: “We deeply apologize, it looks like we are running behind, do you want to wait or reschedule now?”

Monday 12:30pm – Still no word from DC Water, so my wife calls and they finally admit that they weren’t there by noon (yeah….) because half of their staff was unable to make it in that morning.  They could reschedule us for Tuesday morning between 8 and noon again.  We took their offer and went about our day, working and digging, working and digging, working and digging.

Monday night – DC re-freeezes, the SnowPocalypse becomes the IcePocalypse.

Tuesday 11:30am – With no word from DC Water, I call them (Customer Service number, of course) and speak to a representative.  She explains to me that because they are running with about 2/3 of their staff, they are prioritizing emergency calls over inspections, which makes perfect sense.  She says that because of the snow and ice, they have to focus on those emergency issues for this entire week and will have to push our inspection to Monday.

Customer Service Lesson #4 – Tell the truth!  If there is something happening that is preventing you from keeping a promise/appointment/deadline, be up front with it.  Own the issue, take responsibility and your customers will understand.

This representative was open and honest, apologetic that her coworkers put me in this position.

I explained to her my issues:

1) I called to confirm the appointment on Monday.

2) They rescheduled me for Tuesday.

3) I had to track them down for them to say they were unable to come.  My phone number was on their appointment ledger.  Let me know something is wrong BEFORE I wait for two days!

Customer Service Lesson #5 – Be proactive!  If you know there will be a problem, or even COULD be a problem, let your customers know in advance.  Even if everything goes as planned, they will appreciate the fact that you are looking out for them.

If they had called me Monday morning and said “Listen, this SnowPocalypse really messed everything up and we have dozens of emergencies to respond to, so we may have to push you to next week, is that OK?” I would have ZERO problem with that.  Heck, it’s Tuesday and my car is STILL frozen in!

The funny part is that I’m not mad.  I’m amazed that a major city utility can be so inconsistent in customer service.

Just a little customer service really can go a long way to having a happy consumer base.

(Note – Pepco, our local power company, thought they missed an appointment with me and had their Twitter Customer Service Representative check on me!  Now THAT is fantastic customer service!)

Don’t Stop Believin – Covers

Some fun on a Friday:

Boyce Avenue

Glee Cast

The Chipmunks!

Family Guy

Hulk Hogan – Whatcha Gonna Do?

What happens when one of the biggest entertainers of the 1980s and 1990s comes back on the scene in 2010?

What happens when said entertainer’s family life has gone through the public ringer, including a messy divorce, a tragic car crash and an apparent suicide attempt?

Well, we will all find out on January 4, 2010, when Hulk Hogan appears on TNA iMPACT.

Here’s a look back at Hogan, set to his WWE entrance music, “Real American.”  (Confession – I have this song on my iPod workout mix)

I’ll admit it, I was a Hulkamaniac back when.  It’s OK, I know you were, too.  From taking on Andre the Giant to King Kong Bundy to Rowdy Roddy Piper to Paul Orndorff, Hogan defended the cause of good from evil-doers.

When Earthquake cracked his ribs, I nearly cried.  When Zeus came to life from the movie “No Holds Barred,” I was freaked out.

And let’s not forget his epic WCW run, which included Bash at the Beach 1996, where Hogan came out to seemingly help his long-time friend and rival, the “Macho Man” Randy Savage:

Yes, Hogan was a premier brand in entertainment.  He had movies, TV shows (anyone else remember “Thunder in Paradise?”) and public acclaim.  The training, the prayers and the vitamins…he was a role model, for sure.

But after leaving the ring, his personal life became public on the “Hogan Knows Best” TV show, which spurred his nasty divorce and loads of other problems.  His body is broken down to the point where he really can’t perform in the squared circle anymore.  His patented leg-drop is an impossibility given his bad hips.  His recent tell-all book outlined a suicide attempt that none other than Laila Ali interrupted.

So when Hogan returns to the wrestling world, how will you react?

Will you see the beacon of goodness from the 1980s, who body-slammed the big, smelly giant, or will you see the man with a shattered family, shattered body and reportedly shattered psyche?

The bigger question is this: Will you watch….brother?

Don’t Hate the Guru, Hate the Game

Let’s get some debate going on a Monday morning, why don’t we??

I’ve heard an increasing number of people recently express their disgust with the term “social media guru.”

Here is how “guru” is defined by Wikipedia: “one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher)”

The definition seems actually fairly tame; someone who is really good at something and shares his/her knowledge.

Using that premise, you can almost create a “guru hierarchy” in social media, based on the amount of quality of interations with other people.

So why the hate?  It seems like a social media world benefits from having knowledgeable users who teach other people the ins and outs.  [Full disclosure - I just checked my bio on this site, and I called myself a "social media guru."  Whoops.  Maybe I jumped the gun a bit, but I had a social media article published in PRWeek and was coming off some huge client successes when I wrote it.]

And when pitching new business, isn’t “guru” a fun word to use?

Should we standardize guru-ness, so everyone is guruing on the same guru field?

Or do should just let people call themselves what they will and let their actions speak louder than their words?

How is this term worse than “PR Wizard” or “Marketing Genious?”  Is it because of the mild religious connotations that portray social media as somewhat of a cult?

So, go to town.  Hate me for using the “offensive” term [I can take it.].  Or make a case on why it’s really no big deal.  Should I remove the tag from my bio?

Happy Hannukah!

For Jews and non-Jews, enjoy 8 great Hannukah songs!

Night 1

Night 2

Night 3

Night 4

Night 5

Night 6

Night 7

Night 8