Chris Lam

One of the attendees at the WAW SoMe 101 workshop last Wednesday mentioned Ashton Kutcher on Twitter. I exclaimed, “Oh I hate that guy!” [Note: Yes, that was quite unprofessional of me. I apologize for my outburst.] We all laughed, she asked why, and I said I’d tell them if we had time.

So here’s some time and my thoughts and perceptions on Ashton Kutcher and his presence on Twitter.

First, I don’t like him as an actor. (I know, that wasn’t part of it.) I’m already biased. I said it. From this point, it is up to you if you want to read about the rest of my dislike.

Second, when he started his Twitter account, I believe the news hype was that he was going to challenge CNN to a race. He bet that he could get 1,000,000 followers before CNN. He would give his 1,000,000th follwer a copy of “Guitar Hero.” (Dude, you’re a gazillionaire. You’re going to donate one measly game?) Twitter isn’t a game of who has the most followers. It’s about creating dialogue: top to bottom, bottom to top, side to side, and diagonally.

I find it irritating that he plays this card of “Oh I can talk to my fans directly. It’s the democratization of media.” Guess what, Kutcher? You are still perpetuating the top-down model of communication from Web 1.0. Here is this guy who’s already famous, a celebrity, and he is sending messages out to the world. Followers reply back to him, but he rarely replies back. How is this a dialogue? It’s not. It’s more top-down messaging and the antithesis of the democratization of media.

In a sense then, Kutcher is at the top of the communication pyramid and we are all still at the bottom.

Thanks, man, for keeping us down. (I’m being sarcastic.)

Articles of note, or people who can write better than me and have the same reaction:

Hey Twitter, Keep the Shades Off – http://news.cnet.com/hey-twitter-keep-the-shades-off/

Everything Old is New Again (Marketing Profs) – http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2009/04/sheeple_everything_old_is_new.html

The Real Meaning of Ashton Kutcher’s 1M Twitter Followers (AdAge) – http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=136049

Thank you so much, Women at Work attendees! I had a lot of fun teaching the Intro To Social Media workshop at WAW. I’ve just about lost my voice!

You all had such great questions and shared personal experiences with these SoMe tools. I appreciate your candor very much. I hope that the workshop helped clear up a few issues regarding the social media “universe.”

There were many questions that were posed about LinkedIn privacy settings and Facebook settings in general. In the next few days, I’ll be posting my thoughts (and hopefully, some answers) for you. A couple of you asked for the PPT presentation – please let me edit the presentation and I’ll post it as a .pdf file on this website. I’ll also email the final PPT to Kristy for WAW’s files. (I only ask that you give credit where credit is due, and attribute my work.)

In the meantime, I just want to thank everyone who attended this evening’s workshop. (Next time, I’ll try to slow down and take in some oxygen.) <G>

Things are getting exciting! Kristy from Women At Work just called to tell me that they’ve been turning people away for my social media workshop next week. Whoa! So, to accommodate as many people as possible, we’ll be moving the workshop from the computer lab (hands-on) to the conference room.

Alas, I’m revising my PPT to reflect the changes. I’ve yet to create a 1-page handout, but rest assured, I will. I do appreciate it when I have a take-away when I go to workshops and conferences. Better still, I’ll be posting that doc on this site so that you can download it.

JPL - the Jet Propulsion Labratory – in Pasadena is hosting their annual Open House this weekend! It’s free admission and free parking – my favorite combination! They’ll be open from 9am – 5pm both days. So bring your family and take a tour of the facility!

I might see you there.

I met up with Kilby the other day to do some work (and to keep my accountable). Lately, I’ve been having a hard time working at the home office. Perhaps it’s the non-stop NHL playoffs blasting on TV. So… I asked Roberta where I could find wifi and coffee around Studio City (about midway between me and Kilby), and she answered back “M Street Coffee.” Hey-o!

This place was perfect. It was roomy, light, and the woman manning the espresso machine was very nice. I believe her name is Andrea, the owner. I asked her about the big bottles of strawberry juice concentrate (?) behind her, if I could find that in stores. She said if I was interested, she’d order me a bottle! I know that’s just small potatoes, but she didn’t have to offer… and she did. I told her I’d try her strawberry smoothie next time and decide then. What a nice person.

They had a couple of different laksa wraps, vegan energy bars, baked goods for sale. I chose their croissant – yum. It was filled with some sort of sweet paste that reminded me of Chinese pineapple buns. I also ordered an XL iced mocha which was nice and strong. The music playing in the coffeehouse was pleasant and not that loud. I hate it when coffeehouses (Starbucks, you hearin’ me?) blasts music. There was also a lot of art on the walls. The photographs hanging caught my eye. Beautiful destination photos.

Kilby and I spent about 5 hours there, and there were still a few small tables open for people. Of course, it was a Wednesday afternoon, so… visit at your own risk on the weekends. Free wifi, good coffee, enough tables and space. I’ll be coming back to try their other drinks and for their workspace. Thanks, Roberta, for the rec!

Last Sunday, I attended a Best Friends meeting at the Pacific Design Center. The founders Frances and Silva Battista were there from Utah, and so was Georgia, one of the rescued Michael Vick pit bulls. She’s known as one of the Vicktory Dogs – how cute! The attendees were people who represented many animal rescue and animal welfare organizations in the LA area. I went with my colleague Christina, a rep for the Rescue and Humane Alliance of Los Angeles.

This was more of a townhall where the attendees listed several issues they faced in working for animals in LA. Some of these issues included:

• Volunteer management
• Overlapping organizations and competition
• Reinventing the wheel again and again
• Working with their respective city halls

Christina and I were excited about this because this is what we aim to do with our business. We don’t want organizations to compete with each other. Each organization has an expertise or specialty, whether it’s feral cats, pit bull rescue, or education. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an umbrella organization or group that could pull a directory of regional groups and be the hub of education, volunteer management, and resources?