Social Media: Are We Ego-Tripping or Connecting?

It’s no secret that we are living in the age of social media. Some critics may argue that social media is merely a developing trend that will soon grow exhausted, loose popularity, and die down. To these critics, I argue that the naysayers questioned the enduring importance of the personal computer when it was introduced, and skeptics believed the Internet was only a fad that would be short lived. They were clearly mistaken. They underestimated the intricacy and addictiveness of such innovations.

Computers and the Internet have lasted because, in general, people are lazy and are addicted to speed, ease, and access; and, social media has become as popular as it is because at the root of human nature is arrogance. This arrogance that makes us believe our opinions and lives matter to the world. The computer and Internet provide the preferred ease of access, and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube give us the arena to display our “oh-so-important” opinions on everything. (Yes, as I am doing now.)

Let’s take a step back and really analyze why we enjoy social media. “Tweeting” and having people “follow” us makes us feel important. We feel like little celebrities when our tweets are acknowledged or “Retweeted” by a public. Americans have been conditioned to believe that what we have to say is important (thanks to the First Amendment), so why wouldn’t our peers want to know how we feel about issues such as unemployment, the latest fashion trend gone wrong, an upcoming party, or a friend’s stupid comment or action? And let’s admit, we feel accomplished when we have thousands of “followers” on Twitter and hundreds of friends on Facebook.

If we really used these outlets to reach out and build tangible relationships, I would be inclined to think that we were not ego-tripping. But we mostly use them for clever barbs about how fabulous our world is in 140 characters or less. Honestly, when was the last time you had face-to-face coffee with at least one of your friends on Facebook?

My business is public relations. So I will forever have a love hate relationship with this ego-centric yet, admittedly, often effective way of reaching the masses.

The challenge is to use social media as a PR tool to build real relationships and side step all of the ego-tripping.

Candace N. Johnson

Communications Assistant

CS Corporate

Trust, but Verify

Small Business owners can take a lesson from "The Gipper".  When doing business with new clients our best advice in getting paid on time (or at all) is to trust the promises made by the client in the contract.  But verify that the new client has the ability to pay by verifying EVERYTHING that he says with reference checks.

Of course the better business bureau is a wonderful source, but an even better source would be people who have actually done business with new client.  

And most important of all - don't be afraid to get partial payments up front.  This guarantees that if you get stiffed, at least it won't be for the full contract.

In the two years, that we've been in business, we've only run into one client who dinned on our services and dashed without fulfilling the obligation of his contract.  We signed the contract based on the fancy talk of a big talker who pretended to be a well heeled financier. 

What a lesson!  After the contract went unpaid for almost six months, we did some investigating.  Friends who knew him personally and professionally said that he made a practice of skipping out on bills.  If we had done the due diligence before hand, we wouldn't have been left holding the bag.

TRUSTing is good VERIFYing is GREAT!

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Cyber Monday

Today is Cyber Monday and while 99.999% of our customers/clients would never pay for our services by landing on our website and typing in their credit card info, I do feel kinda left out of the fun by not having the PayPal link on the CS Corporate website.

HOWEVER, if you would like to purchase personal assistant and concierge services from our sister company Chaos Solutions visit HTTP://WWW.YOURCHAOSSOLUTIONS.COM and shop away...

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The Big Screen - Is "Where the Wild Things Are"

"Let the Wild Rumpus Start!!!"

Movie goers found Maurice Sendak's classic character Max and his Wild Things on the Big Screen this Weekend!

I'm eager to see the movie because I love the book which happens to be only 338 words.  But as commentaries have said all weekend, in those few words Sendak created two vivid worlds - Max's real life where a raucous, rambunctious kid gets sent to his room without dinner and Max's other real life where he is King of the Wild Things and wild rumpuses are perfectly acceptable.

Early returns say that director Spike Jonze nails it...If you've seen the film and know the book what do you think?

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Remember the Pink Pig at Rich's In Atlanta?

Do any of you remember the Pink Pig at Rich's in Atlanta?  People (like my mom) still get nostalgic when you talk about the pink pig.  I'm not sure if it's still there.  I don't think the pig was the official logo or brand of Rich's, but it certainly became synonymous with chain.  

In my hometown Columbus, Georgia, "Kady the Cow," can stir up as much emotion as the Rich's Pink Pig.  As a child growing up Kady stood like a mystical guardian in front of the Kinnett Dairy building.  When Kinnett moved away, she remained a fixture in front of the newly built Best Buy store.  I don't know what the Best Buy owners thought of the gigantic Dairy Godmother standing quite literally in their front yard.  But their only choice was to keep her there.

Removing Kady from her spot overlooking the city would have caused outrage and protest and certainly would have lost the retail chain favor among Columbus residents. 

Shortly after the Best Buy store opened a calf mysteriously appeared next to Kady.  The calf was given the name Bebe (short for Best Buy). 

Now that's managing the brand and perfecting relations with your public at its best!

The Significance of a Symbol

i love studying logos...WOLDA.org has a great crop of logos from the 2008 competition.  cs corporate's logo is a simple dragonfly encompassed in a circle.  our branding and logo is so important that we NEVER leave home without wearing a dragonfly necklace or broach.  (notice even at my nephew's pee wee football game, i'm wearing my dragonfly.)

we chose it because like the dragonfly, we are "butterflies with attitude..."  to learn more about the significance of our symbol check out our website and read the logo story.  

below are some of the wolda logos that i love for their complex SIMPLICITY.

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"les films de la-bas" - a swiss film company - there current project focuses on african immigrants in france...

"the dream catchers"  - a company that shoots wedding videos

"Neo Tokyo" -  an exhibition of contemporary Japanese electronic art. The logo represents a fusion between technology, nature and the artists.

God Bless Him for His Love of Country -The Passing of an American Brand

Today we mourn the passing of Ted Kennedy an unabashed liberal. Regardless of how you felt about his politics (which I admittedly often disagreed), you could never deny his great love of country and family. His goal and desire was always a better America.

In the video below, he eulogizes his slain brother Robert.

God Bless Ted Kennedy and May Flights of Angels Sing Him to His Rest.

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