Kristin Colier

Archive for the ‘Technology Troubadour’ Category

Hi Friends – I have been trying to explain how exactly I can help companies improve their products, marketing and customer rapport with an effective internet presence.  I talk a lot about user experience and integrating social media… but I think this story may help illustrate what I do best.  Enjoy.

The Story of The Three Small Business Owners

Once upon a time there were three small business owners. They all sold party supplies and all decided they must build a website.

The first small business owner was not very smart. He hired his nephew to build his website for $300 and a case of Budweiser. He launched his website. He made a some money. He was pretty happy.

The second small business owner had a little more business sense. He invested over $2000 with a web design company. He used professional graphics and created an online catalog. He went even further and bought Google ads every month to drive lots and lots of people to his website. He spent more money, he made more money. He was happy.

The third small business owner was the wisest of all. She hired me.

I asked the business owner lots of questions about her products and her business goals. I researched the industry and her target customers.
I did keyword research, monitored blogs, twitter streams, social sites and other online forums and learned a lot about her customers.
We discovered that most party planners are women between the ages of 25 and 45. We learned that the buying habits for professional party planners are different than people that plan parties once or twice a year. We figured out that party planners often need information on caterers, rentals, entertainment, recipes, party games, house-cleaning services and venues. We learned that some party themes were timeless and some were trendy – and could find out what trends were on the rise and which were fading out.

Since the small business owner learned so much about party planning and party supplies she provided great advice to her customers too. She became known as “The Party Queen.” Her customers looked to her for answers and she delivered. They even told their friends about her. One she built her website, it became a one-stop shop for party planning, tips, resources and supplies.

She invested some money, she made lots of money. She was happy AND her customers were happy.

But that is not the end.

One day…. Along came the BIG BAD ECONOMY.

The Big Bad Economy visited the first small business owner. He huffed and he puffed and blew … Well, since his prices were too high, and he didn’t have very many customers to begin with, it didn’t take much to knock down the first small business owner. Soon he was back to flipping burgers.

NEXT, the Big Bad Economy visited the second small business owner. He huffed and puffed… but since the Second Small Business Owner had more customers, he bought in bulk and was able to offer lower prices than some of the other online party businesses. He lowered his prices, decreased his margins and though he wasn’t exactly “rolling in it,” for now, he was still in business.
The Big Bad Economy was perplexed, so he called his brother. His brother was called “A Fundamental Shift in Consumer Demand for Cheap Unsustainable Plastic Crap Made in China.”

Together they huffed and puffed…
The business owner increased his advertising, he decreased his prices even more, but still he found his customers kept disappearing. Finally the Big Bad Economy and the Fundamental Shift in Consumer Demand for Cheap Unsustainable Plastic Crap Made in China put him out of business.

His fate was worse than the first. He went back to an unsatisfying middle-management job and blamed the hippies for ruining his business.

Now, I am sure you are wondering what happened to the Third Small Business Owner.
When the Big Bad Economy came along, she didn’t lose customers. Her customers were loyal. In fact, she picked up some of the first small business owner’s customers. Her customers didn’t go shopping around for lower prices because she added value, she gave her expertise away for free. She saved them time and money by putting everything in one place. Plus, everyone liked doing business with the Party Queen.
And when the Fundamental Shift in Consumer Demand for Cheap Unsustainable Plastic Crap Made in China came along – she was ready. She had seen this trend coming for months and had already started offering greener and eco-friendly party products.

They called their cousins: “Product Recall,” “Fabricated Sex Scandal” and “Unauthorized Biography.” It didn’t matter. Her customers loved her and continued to recommend her website to their party planner friends.

Her business thrived. Her customers thrived.

And They All Lived Happily Ever After

I was recently reminded of this classic parable of the difference between Heaven and Hell and naturally it made me think of innovation and business.

A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell.

The Lord said to the man, “Come, I will show you hell.”

They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew.
Everyone was famished, desperate and starving.

Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths.

The suffering was terrible.

“Come, now I will show you heaven,” the Lord said after a while.

They entered another room, identical to the first – the pot of stew, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But there everyone was happy and well-nourished.

“I don’t understand,” said the man. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything was the same?”

The Lord smiled. “Ah, it is simple,” he said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”

So, the point of the story is – that selflessness in the short term leads to the overall greater good for everyone in the long run, or that interdependence is the only true way to happiness or that greed will lead to suffering.

Whichever. The point is not my point.

My point is all it would take is ONE person in Hell to figure it out – to INNOVATE, to say “Hey guys, I have an idea – Let’s Feed EACHOTHER.” And they’d all slap their heads and say “Of course! It’s so obvious. Let’s do it!”

But it doesn’t work that way, does it? No. More often the innovator hears “We are fine the way we are, thank you very much.” and “Who let the do-gooder in?” or “Keep your Socialist agenda to yourself!”

This point was brought home, when I watched the first episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. His mission is to educate children and families to make better food choices and fight obesity. He went to Huntington, West Virginia, the unhealthiest city in America and was met with scorn and resistance.

(Mind you, it did help underline my “buy-in strategy” theory. He could have gained a lot more ground by getting the lunch ladies as allies outside the school with a free cooking class, or a church picnic – before jumping in and trying to ‘innovate’ their current system.)

I’m optimistic it turns out well in the end – because, well, I’ll be too damn depressed if it doesn’t… and unhappy endings don’t make good television.

The bottom line: Next time you propose your obvious and innovative solution, be prepared to withstand a little heat.

Cheers!
-Kristin

Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats. — Howard Aiken

I consider myself an idea person. It’s one of my core strengths. I have a long and illustrious career of coming up with great ideas that never get anywhere, at least not on my watch.

In 1993 my friend Andy, an intern from Georgia Tech at one of the first companies I worked at (an internet technology company) showed me my first world wide website with the Mosaic Browser.

It was an interactive archeological dig where you could control robotic arms and watch on camera as bones and artifacts were revealed. It was very cool. Unprecedented implications.

I went to the president/CEO of the company and said “We should look into this, I think this web thing is going to be big.”

He smiled patiently and said something like “Don’t get too excited about it, Andy is just a college student.”

I’m not venting or trying to toot my horn here (ok, some venting and horn-tooting), but this story does prelude my recent epiphany. I have a tendency to throw my great ideas “out there,” hope some in-charge entrepreneurial type will love it, implement it, find great success, credit me and we all get rich. My genius should be enough.

Since then I have discovered, if I want other people to engage in the 99% perspiration part of nurturing my great brainchild – my idea has to contain a “buy-in strategy” as well as a general plan for implementation and measuring success. I should also anticipate and plan for revisions.

Successful entrepreneurs know this (or figure it out) when pitching a business concept to potential investors, but it is also true within a corporation or in any situation where you want your new ideas to thrive. This is possibly one of the largest sources of middle management frustration; The employee who has the most unique perspective on how to improve a process and has no leverage for implementing the solution.

My practical steps for getting ideas to fruition:
1. IDEA
2. Buy-In
3. Strategy
4. Implementation
5. Revision

Hang in there my brilliant genius friends.

Here’s “Working at the Carwash Blues” by Jim Croce – as interpreted by the Muppets. ( I couldn’t find a good original.)
My favorite lyric “They wouldn’t listen to the fact that I was a genius, they man said we got all that we can use.”

Cheers!
-Kristin

Happy Valentine’s Day.

I don’t have much to add. To me this video is a beautiful reminder of how the world can come together through technology for a greater common purpose.

Peace and Love,
Kristin

I just came back from a local Meetup and felt like I needed to take a shower afterward.

The topic was Social Media Marketing in Georgia. Up my alley, right?

I’m not trying to be a snob here, but the presenter vaguely broached the subject of whom to “friend” on Facebook and why, then opened the floor up to audience members who ranged in age from 25 – 75, and there was a lot of “who the heck cares if I’m eating a turkey sandwich?” and “why would my prospects want to see pictures of me in third grade?” There was no comparison of different Social Networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace) or what level of intimacy was appropriate on any. There is clearly resistance in adopting this (and most) technology and skepticism of this new way of interacting.

I suddenly felt I was not in a seminar, or even a networking group but in a large group therapy session which ended with the therapist (presenter) saying, “you’ve been great today everybody, I think we’ve made real progress… buy my book and you’ll really be on your way.”

Which leads to unconscious SoMed users like these in How To Suck At Facebook. (What a timely link I received today. Thanks @urbanreporter)

But, that’s not even the part that made me feel dirty. Many of the people I met there’s sole purpose for being there was to use social media to make money. I don’t have any problem with people wanting to make money. I don’t have any problem with people leveraging social media tools to propel their businesses. That’s what I do. That’s what I help others do. But the majority (ok, most vocal) of participants seemed to be adopting a technology against their instincts which inevitably leads to abuse.

The difference: I help small businesses take their products, their ideas and their passions online so they can genuinely connect with the people that want them.

The internet (and the recession) has opened new doors for individuals to connect with people who share their interests and even make a business around it.
It has also created a slew of people that see dollar signs when they look at the potential of the internet and exploit every aspect of it in order to make easy money.

It reminds me of the old “Make Money While Working from Home” scams. You send $15 to them and they tell you how to mail out thousands of “Make Money while Working at Home” letters. No substance. No Authenticity. Just cluttering it up for the rest of us while we attempt to sincerely bridge societies through common interests, they are forging false pathways for personal gain. I met someone who dynamically creates blogs, aggregates content from other blogs and then automatically pushes and auto-promotes them. He thought it was genius, I thought it was a little… auto-erotic for lack of a better term. I guess this is just another lesson in learning to separate the players from the good guys.

So I may be an idealist. OK, I am an idealist. But please understand the difference between an internet opportunity and an internet opportunist and know into which camp you or your mentors fall.

This presentation may help drive my point home.
One of the key phrases: Social Media is NOT just a New Messaging Channel.

So – headed off to SoCon this weekend where I hope/expect to find the more enlightened and curious Social Networkers rather than the “I smell money” crowd. This is my third year attending and my, how things (me mostly) have changed. After SoCon08 I joined Facebook. After SoCon09 I started using Twitter. I can’t wait to see what new social technology will change my life next.

Namasté
-Kristin

There’s no question that Facebook has changed my life. I have reconnected with old friends and stayed in touch with people I probably never would have seen again. Plus, I’ve made lots of new friends.

Here’s a story I just have to share with you. If you are from Atlanta, or a fan of Top Chef (or both) you know Richard Blais – a finalist in Top Chef Season 4 and local Atlanta Celebrity. So – I “friended” Richard on Facebook. And he was kind enough to accept. He recently opened a new restaurant here in Atlanta called FLIP! Burger Boutique.

A couple weeks ago – my husband and I planned to meet some friends in town for dinner – and I suggested we go to FLIP! I sent a message to Richard telling him we were going on Saturday – would he be there? I would love to get a picture with him.

We get there on Saturday, after 9pm and there was still a 2+ hour wait for the table. As our party of six and stood in the parking lot contemplating (me wanting to wait, them wanting to eat sooner) out walked Richard Blais through the back door on his way home.

OMG! Yes, I was star struck – no one can use liquid Nitrogen like Chef Blais… So anyway – I said “Hi Richard – I sent you a message..” – he said “Hi, yes I remember from Facebook” – he asked if we were eating at FLIP! tonight and my friend Paul said the wait was too long. Then Richard said “Let me see what I can do…” He went back in and pushed us up the wait list. Told us to talk to Mike the Chef and so on…

What a great experience. Of course, Richard was extremely nice too… Which illustrates another good point about Social Media Networking: A small group of loyal followers will bring you closer to success than shotgun marketing to the marginally-interested.
Cheers! -Kristin

Hi all -  As the economy “does it’s thing”  (no need to get into that now), I keep hearing it’s a freelancers market out there.   There are definitely pros and cons to the corporate life, but having been there, done that, and thrown out the leftover business cards – I’ve opted for the flexibility and variety that freelancing offers.   So, if you’ve made that decision too, but not sure what to do next, this list is for you.

1. Establish your Personal Brand.
List your talents and attributes and things that make you unique.  Are you a writer? Or are you a sports writer, humorist, community fly-on-wall?  It’s worth taking a little while to get it right, because you then want to incorporate your personal brand onto your website, your business cards and your message.  Consider a personal logo or color scheme.
David Cohen is a colleague and expert on the subject of branding.

2. Get Online
Even if you are an organic soybean farmer, in today’s market – you must have a relevant internet presence.
A simple blog, can be established for free in 10 minutes. www.wordpress.com.  With a little more time and effort you can add a unique look and feel and all sorts of functionality.

3. Follow the Leader
I don’t mean steal someone’s business idea, just learn from the best.  Do research.  Is there someone in your field you admire?  Buy their book, read their blog, take their advice.  Most successful entrepreneurs are happy to mentor and help you learn from their mistakes.  See what works, then differentiate into your own niche.  You soon will have followers of your own.

4. Network.
Join groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, but also get out in person to local Meetups, conferences, business associations and so on.  When I was helping a friend with his gourmet butter business, I discovered there was an official Association for Dressings and Sauces.  There is something for every niche.  If there isn’t, start one.

Let people know what you do, and foster genuine relationships with people.

When I was in Nashville at a songwriting conference I learned a rule about Open Mike etiquette which applies here as well.  In Nashville, there are Open Mike Nights all over the city, and some of the more impatient up-and-comers, sign up for several different shows a night, wait their turn, play their song and leave for the next one.  They don’t stay and listen to the other artists up on stage hoping to get their big break, they don’t mingle in the bar with the audience and other aspiring musicians and songwriters.  This will get you noticed, but not in a good way.

Everyone thinks their own song (story, business plan, idea) is the best.  But the best music that comes out of Nashville usually comes from collaborative talent, established relationships and artists “getting out there.”

When you network, be sure to listen as well as sing.

5. Get Down to Business
This is my least favorite part, which makes it all that much more important to have on the to-do list.
Figure out the billing, invoicing, taxes, cost overhead required and how to stay organized.  Find tools for project management, customer management, payment processing, etc.  Here’s a starting point: 85+ Freelancer Tools

Best of Luck!
-Kristin