Kudos, @NavyFederal

Managing a brand in today's interconnected world is difficult - what is social media? Marketing? Branding? Advertising? Customer Service? Crisis Management? All of the above.

I got an email this week from Navy Federal Credit Union. I have not served in our nation's armed forces, but my dad served for a number of years in the Navy. The story, as I remember it, is that my parents brought me into the branch when I was a few weeks old and a teller my parents had a regular ongoing customer relationship with opened an account in my name with $20 of her own money (you can have an account as a dependent of a serviceman).  The two biggest pieces of financial advice my dad has consistently delivered over the years are "Don't end up with a rebate on your taxes - that's a tax-free loan to the government" and "Whatever you do, keep your Navy Federal Credit Union account."

I haven't used the account much over the years - every so often I add a little to it and it quietly earns interest.  They've also come in handy with great rates on car loans and debt consolidation.

A few days ago I got an email promoting boat loans. I thought that was kind of funny, considering most of its customers have probably served on a sea-going vessel much larger than they'd ever be able to get a loan for.  I didn't know if it was a good idea (you can get your own boat and finally be captain), or silly (why would I buy boat which will always feel small compared the ones I served on - plus I remember the constant maintenance).  I decided to tweet about it, but to take a more absurd train of thought, because, well, that's how I think.

Navy Federal originally misunderstood and their security mindset jumped into action.  I had to explain that, no, in fact it was a joke that just didn't work as well as I'd hoped.  (Another one of my followers got it - they retweeted it.)  

Once NFCU understood, a more playful side came out. So I have to give props to them for having that balance - security-minded, but also empowered/allowed to have a more playful, informal interchange with their customers. So, kudos, @NavyFederal - it's not easy being a bank in a social era.

The Sift (July 4, 2014)

Five things I've read recently that I wanted to share. Happy Independence Day to my American readers.

ENGADGET -- Facebook's company trip to Africa leads to more efficient Android app - this is awesome. I once took a group of my staff and peers to a Starbucks where we imagined how our website would be different if we worked at Starbucks.  As we sat around and drank coffee, it got us out of the office and made us think differently. I wish I had the opportunity to do more of those types of things - imagine what we'd think about if we were answering questions as we walked around Home Depot or Target.

A LIST APART -- Letter to a Junior Designer

NIELSEN NORMAN GROUP -- Define Stronger A/B Test Variations Through UX Research

GOOGLE CHROMIUM -- Web Fundamentals and Web Starter Kit: Resources for Modern Web Development - In retrospect, the questions isn't why Google decided to do this, but why it took them so long?

NIELSEN NORMAN GROUP -- Decision Making in the E-Commerce Shopping Cart: 4 Tips for Supporting Users

Make it stop #newtwitter

You know when you taste something so bad you claw at your tongue to try to get rid of the taste? I feel like clawing at my eyeballs. The new Twitter design is so bad that Gap has decided they're going to try to redesign their logo again because apparently the era of good design is over and this time around maybe people won't notice.

B to the arf, yo. Garish design. Well, looks like this weekend I'll be trying to apply lipstick to this pig just so I don't have to close my Twitter account in embarrassment. Yuck.

hashtag gag.

Feed Sift (02/07)

Five things I wanted to share from around the web...

-1-

Simple Year in Review - I liked the design of the 2013 recap from Simple Bank, a great bank*.

-2-

7 New Year’s Resolutions I Wish Facebook Would Make - from Social Fixer, an extension everyone should install if they use Facebook, it makes Facebook better.

-3-

NASA shows off a squishy robot rover that could land on Titan (video) - this is just so odd I can't explain it - you kind of have to watch it to understand it

-4-

What's Attention Worth? - another good quick reminder from Seth Godin

-5-

SkyCycle: London Concept Takes Biking to New Heights - could cut travel time down for bikes, be safer, and get more cars off the road. (Unless you choke on the exhaust of the trains below you?)

---

(*I totally recommend this bank. This link will tell them I sent you. I don't get paid, but it would be interesting to know if anyone joined because of me.)

Auto-Pilot

I'm going to take a social media vacation. I'm going to remove some apps from my phone. I was thinking about blocking them altogether with a "time waster preventer" extension in Chrome, but I do still want to wish people Happy Birthday, I think that's kinda important.

But, yeah, I'm going to take a break. Facebook has pretty much ruined Facebook.

It's time to simplify. Not that I don't care about the lives of my friends, but that's not what Facebook shows me anymore.

So instead, I'll be paying more attention to my blog. It'll post to Facebook and Twitter, but it'll be on auto-pilot. If I do come up with anything I think is just so brilliant that the world would be deprived were I not to post it, I'll use Hootsuite and schedule it. That'll keep me away from it.

I won't completely be cut-off, I'll be notified of tags and comments and stuff like that. And I'll still have the number one most used social media on the planet: email.

P.S. Facebook, please bring back the running list of everything.

My idea is just to produce a running tally of everything. Allow me to mark things as read, allow me to mute conversations, but just show me everything. People and brands I interact with often would be full-size, with images. The less I interact with them, the smaller the font and the lighter color the font. Eventually, someone I rarely interact with would get a

Freddy Facebook updated their status. 

in a really faint font. I'd have to actually click on it to see it. That's how you could measure engagement. If I kept expanding their links, you could start making them bigger and eventually show them automatically. Same with people I never comment on or like the status of, their future posts get smaller and smaller until they end up in tinyville. The best part? Because it's everything, I'll scan it quickly. Even the ads you insert.

Spying 2

So I had intended to write about this yesterday but really sidetracked with hackers and governmental agencies with three-letter names. Let's skip past all that, shall we?

Over the weekend got to briefly visit some friends and their new baby. I hadn't seen them in quite some time - he, not sure how long. She, a colleague who transitioned to being a stay-at-home-mom / freelancer / independent business owner when it was time to go out on maternity leave in advance of the arrival of their second child.

But because they share their life through blogs, complete with photos and video and because we do interact in Facebook, it was so easy to just jump back in. True, the visit was a brief encounter spent mostly trying to keep Ben from being miserable and making everyone else's time less pleasant, but it also felt like there hadn't been any time apart.

But to reflect on it later, it was a little bit weird - because so much of what we put out there (save Facebook) is truly unidirectional, broadcast-even, you may feel like you're connected or know someone, but the feedback loop is unclosed (save, again, the occasional comment on the blog). You posted a blog, I read it, you don't know if I read it, or if I understood it, or how it factored into my mental model of who you are. It also probably allowed me to be lazy or less in the moment. Only after we were in the car did it occur to me to express something meaningful that I should have said in person. So I sent them a note on Facebook after I got home. pffft.

I recall the first day of COMA123 as a freshman in college (yeah, the irony of "coma" is not lost on us Communications Majors from PLU) when they taught that 1+1=3. What I say, what you hear and the experience we share together of saying and hearing. (Or alternatively, what I think you heard me say. In truth, perhaps 1+1 is at least 4. But now I might be digressing again.)

The subject is a lie (A Work-Related Post)

This is just disappointing. I work in Email Marketing so we talk about stuff like this all the time and it's the topic of the blogs and articles I regularly read.

Here's an email I recently received from Hootsuite.

Social Media "Strategy"

I've heard it said that "If you've got a Twitter account, you are an expert in Social Media." That phrase comes to mind every time someone gives me a Social Media endorsement on LinkedIn.

If I were to utter that aloud in the presence of my friends who work in social media, one of two things would happen.  For some, they'd get a pained look on their face, declare that to be untrue and then pull out their phones and tweet about the injustice, ignoring me for the duration of the conversation. The other half would choke back a laugh and then get a stern look on their face and shush me. I like my social media friends so I'd never say something like that to them. Goodness knows the kinds of things people say about me in my presence when they find out that one of my roles is overseeing a team who sends out emails all day long. (Though the one I remember the most was my first visit to a church after moving to California after college in the mid-90s. They were having a picnic that day so they invited me to stick around for that. They asked what I did and I said I was working for an internet startup. The pastor declared "The internet is all pornography." I didn't say much for the rest of the picnic and did not return to that church.)

Someone recently pointed out that on my Twitter bio I said that I was working in Email and Social Media. Of course, that's not exactly true. While I often quote the line "Email is the grandfather of Social Media and not the grandson of Direct Mail," where I work, email is stuck in sort of a middle, gray area. I adjusted my bio so as not to suggest an area of responsibility that did not exist.

But it's been making me think... do I have a strategy with all this stuff? I guess I do. Maybe? Depends on how generous you want to be with the word "strategy." It's not extremely cohesive, but it all combines to make up my online personality and my brand.

Puppy Town

Memo to self - don't use 1,000,000 likes as the threshold to allow the family to get a puppy.

Still, this is pretty cool.  Go, internet!

@Ford is Tacky

Too much?  Too soon?  Or am I too sensitive?

This just feels icky.  I like a good zombie joke as much as the next guy, but tying it to the recent events in Florida and Canada?  Euuuuwww... I can't believe you went there, Ford.  

(click to enlarge)

My *WHAT*, now?

This does not make sense.  Now, I know from time-to-time Facebook does something that misjudges how people will respond.  But rarely is it overly confusing from a User Experience point of view.

Social Media Echo

I've found that in the last week or two I've just plain forgotten to check in on social media on a regular basis.  I'm still using Google Reader and Blogger regular, but I've been forgetting to check Twitter and even Facebook.  (My email is still a lost cause.)

Someone else was saying tonight at small group that they feel like social media is getting old and someone else agreed with them.  And we're a crowd who usually lives on social media, all but cutting off contact with friends who don't use social media.

But, is it just us, or does it feel like there's a real lull here?  Is it possibly just summer stretching on a little too long without anything interesting going on?

What Is This, Boy Scouts?

I'm slightly amused by all these sites now offering badges. I've gotten badges on at least three sites now. I think the only one that I'm really happy about is "The 25 Club" from LoseIt, signifying that I've lost 25 pounds. Although I also got my red Swingline stapler one, that's cool. There are a couple of Foursquare ones I'm hoping to get soon, but overall, it's pretty silly, all these badges. (I stopped two below Eagle Scout, by the way.)

Lose It badges.  I like the look of these.

Foursquare, the grand-daddy of badges

YouVersion - I hope they get smaller as you get more
because if these were on chains, the size
would kill your neck.

I do want to get these ones from Foursquare:

Fixer Upper

Baggage Handler

Jet Setter

And since I've not quoted The Treasure of Sierra Madre or Blazing Saddles in this post, feel free to do so in the comments.

Literacy is Dead

Or at least proofreading is. Apparently neither Reuters nor MSNBC employs copy editors or proofreaders?  (My best guess is that this was written out by hand and then scanned in, but this just proves again how wrong an idea it is for Oregon to allow students to use spell-checkers during writing tests.)

(click to enlarge)

Odds and Ends 96

1. INFRASTRUCTURIST -- High-Speed Rail Roundup: Putin Promises HSR by 2018

2. MSNBC -- Critics say Honda may be losing its edge - Thank you. That's what I've been saying. Seen the new Odyssey? Looks like a relative of the Aztek.

3. SETH GODIN -- Lady Gaga and Me

4. MSNBC -- Niagara Falls Without Water (As Seen in 1969)

5. ENDGADGET -- Microsoft releases H.264 video plug-in for Windows 7 Firefox users - this isn't the kind of news I usually pass along, but in this case, I'm mentioning it because I want to give Microsoft some kudos. Well done, Redmond!

6. TWITTER -- Top 10 Most Re-Tweeted Tweets

7-10. Videos after the break... Digital Nativity, Drift Fail, SNC can't get "12 Days" right, but that's ok and some Lego Black Ops

Odds and Ends 91

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- Always Stuff Going On

2. ROBERT CRINGLEY -- Verizon LTE iPhone 4V

3. SEATTLE TRANSIT BLOG --
Denver’s Lessons for the North Corridor HCT Alignment - I wonder if this is, however, how you get stuff built - start by aligning with what people know (the freeways) and then build feeders later?

4. LIFEHACKER --
Activate the New Facebook Profile Layout with Featured Friends, Infinite Photo Scrolling

5. ANDY SERNOVITZ -- Shooting Yourself in the Foot

6. I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER -- You Want to Impress Me?

7. LIFEHACKER -- Don't Make Important Decisions Until Your Decision Time - love it.

8-10 - Videos after the break - it's the Kinect edition - three videos showing some pretty cool stuff people are doing with the Microsoft Kinect.

Odds and Ends 36

-1-

ENGADGET -- Google Places' camera exposed in the convenience store wilds

-2-

SETH GODIN -- Is Everything Perfect?

-3-

TECHCRUNCH -- Woot’s Deal Of The Day: Woot! — Amazon Buys It. Price? $110 Million Weird. (thanks, Shari!)

-4-

YOUTUBE -- I missed it because I'm behind on my reading, but @OldSpice Guy @Isaiahmustafa posted lots of videos in response to tweets people sent him.

-5-

LIFEHACKER -- What Caffeine Actually Does to Your Brain - as I add this item, I'm lying in bed sick. I wonder how many of my current maladies are from having a lot of coffee on Friday and then none yesterday or today.

-6-

WASHINGSTON STATE HIGHWAYS -- Washington State Route 103 (he's driving and photographing and journaling all freeways in the state) - 103 is one of his shortest reviews.

-7-

WSDOT -- SR 99 - S Holgate Street to S King Street Viaduct Replacement - a *very* slick walk-through of what will be done as they prepare to and then do tear down the south end of the Alaskan Way viaduct. Multiple camera angles and everything. Really worth checking out.

-8-10- Videos after the break
Include "I Fought For You" by Sound Tank, trailers for social network movie(s), and a Star Wars reenactment on a subway.

Who's On Your List?

Sometime last year, I had a high of 450+ friends on Facebook. It was a source of pride for me, but it was also a lie. I had added people for nostalgic reasons, there are about 40,000 people working for our organization world-wide, so I was accepting any request I got, and I maintain a group that a lot of people wanted to join, so I was requiring anyone who wanted to join to become a friend.

And then I got yelled at at work for too much Facebook and Twitter during work hours. So in one night, I cut the list in half, doing about the same to my list of about 150 followers/followees on Twitter. And only one person who I cut actually asked to be re-added.

Ever since then, I've been really thinking I could do more. How well did I really know the people still on the list, why were they still there, and did they really have a part in my current life?

And so now I stand at a list with 199. But do I really count the 199 as current friends? Do they me?

On the flip side, I've been the catalyst for some interesting introductions between people who have never met. John and Kevin, Jim and Skip, Mark and Joe. Possibly others I'm not even aware of.

So, I'm going to start something new on Facebook. I'm going to use the @ tag and status updates to start introducing people, in case some other connections might come from it. Also, it will be an opportunity for me to take a hard look at who's on my list and whether they should still be there. I'm going to go alphabetically down my "All Friends" page on Facebook. If I add a new friend, I'll give an introduction to them immediately. I'll try to do one a day and Mr. Barnhart, you're up first.

I think it could be fun and would challenge others to join me. So... who's on your list?

The Last Word

It's difficult for me to get an email and read it and then not respond. Sure, there are some where deleting is fine, and some I delete without even reading.

But I'm talking about emails from actual people sent directly to me. I feel like I owe everyone a response. To not respond seems, well, rude.

But I was thinking today. What if everyone felt that way? Our inboxes would be more paralyzingly useless than they are today.

But what I need to keep in mind is that there are plenty of times where I've written to someone and they haven't responded. In many cases, I probably won't remember that I wrote to them, so I'm not sitting there upset at the lack of a response. Moreso I'm pleasantly surprised to find a nice new personal email in my inbox.

And someone has to make the bold commitment to kill a thread that has died. Like when you stand there with someone in the hall long after you've run out of things to say and both of you are panicking because your coffee is getting cold and you can't break free. (I'm not good at ending those kinds of conversations, either.)

So, that's an unofficial goal of mine for the year. Getting better at knowing when a thread should die -- and then letting it go peacefully into the Trash folder without worrying that I've offended.

What Would You Do?

MARKHOWELL.TYPEPAD.COM -- Here's a test of your analytical ability. And don't worry...I'm just as much in this as you. We all are. Here's the test: If you were walking through a subway tunnel, about to board your train, would you stop to listen to an violinist playing a beautiful song? Or would you just walk on by and jump aboard as the doors close? More...