About a month ago, I made the decision to leave my job at Sears Electronics as its social media manager and go full time on my startup.
We still haven’t launched yet, so I’m not going to say what it is, but there have been some great fringe benefits to working for myself:
From an early age, I’ve always supported local companies, whether in New York (e.g. Boylan) or Buffalo (New Era), and I continue to do so in Chicago.
If I can choose between one of the products below and a competitor’s product, I’ll support the local guys — not just because they’re local, but because their stuff is just better:
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Know it’s been a little while since I’ve done a #cigarchat event (you know, new job and all), but they’re back!
The next chat, sponsored by Chicago-based Tesa Cigars, will be on Monday, September 27 from 7-9pm CST, and the cigar we’ll be smoking is the Tesa Cabinet 312.
Once again, there will be a few sticks to go around. Follow me on Twitter at @DanielHonigman and keep an eye out for my announcement there. The first 10 people who DM me after that (A few from Chicago, 4-5 from elsewhere) will get a Cabinet 312 to enjoy during the event. (Of course, you’ll have to smoke it during the #cigarchat, and provide proof in the form of a photo or video that includes the proper hashtag.)
Hope you can make the chat!
The first ever Chicago Cigar Tweetup was such a success, we’ve decided to hold another!
The Chicago Cigar Tweetup #2 will be over at Tesa Cigar Co. on Thursday, May 27 from 6-10pm.
Our liquor sponsor will be Chicago’s own Salud Tequila Lounge, who will be sampling several of its featured mescals and tequilas.
Tesa Cigars will also be running a Buy 3, Get 1 deal on its own cigars, which are available in all price ranges. Cigars from home are NOT allowed.
If you’re going to come, PLEASE (x50) RSVP so our sponsor knows how much liquor to bring! (NOTE: If you’re not a tequila drinker, Tesa is BYOB, so feel free to bring anything else you’d like to drink.)
This event is open to both men and women; no one will be out of place.
Hope to see you there! The details are:
Where: Tesa Cigar Co.
Address: 464 N. Halsted St., Chicago IL 60622
Phone: 312.929.3075
Time: 6-10pm
Date: May 27, 2010
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Check out some of my Cigar of the Week posts here.
We’ve been enjoying our #cigarchat events so much, we’ve been keeping them going with top-notch cigar brands showcasing their very latest offerings.
Our next event, sponsored by CAO Cigars, will be on May 10, 2010 from 7:30-9:30pm CST, and we’ll be smoking the CAO La Traviata.
Once again, there will be a few sticks — and some swag — to go around. Follow me on Twitter at @DanielHonigman and keep an eye out for my announcement there. The first 10 people who DM me after that (4-5 from Chicago, 4-5 from elsewhere) will get a La Traviata cigar to enjoy during the event. (Of course, you’ll have to smoke it during the #cigarchat, and provide proof in the form of a photo or video that includes the proper hashtag.)
(NOTE: To follow the conversation on Twitter, go here.)
I’ve enjoyed my time at Weber Shandwick, which included work on Oscar Mayer, General Motors, Milk, the Cherry Marketing Institute and the Campbell Soup Company. I was a 2009 MarCom Award Platinum Winner for my white paper on lifestreaming. I contributed regularly to Weber Shandwick’s social media blog.
With that said, I’m formally announcing a move: I’ll be the new social media manager for Sears Home Electronics, a multi-billion dollar division for an even bigger multi-billion dollar company: Sears.
Here’s why I elected to take the social media gig over there:
1. A strong team with an aggressive approach My buddy Scott Murphy introduced me to some of the digital/social media folks with several of Sears’ business units several months back. In his recent letter to shareholders, Sears CEO Eddie Lampert wrote the following:
“…social networking and social media have only just begun to have an impact on shopping, and it is a revolution we intend to harness going forward.”
Sears is harnessing the power and wisdom of the crowds in its MySears and MyKmart communities, on Facebook, Twitter , YouTube and elsewhere on the web. I look forward to extending Sears’ presence in the retail electronics world, creating content and conversations that drive awareness and — hopefully — the bottom line.
2. A chance to be in the driver’s seat once more. Self-explanatory; I’ll be reporting to the business unit CMO, Eddie Combs.
All in all, I’ve spent a good nine months at Weber Shandwick, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have learned about the agency business and public relations. I’ve worked with some great folks, including Adam Keats and the WS Chicago team, Chris Perry, Margot Savell, George Snell, Richard Nevins, Wade Rockett, Greg Swan, Andy Schueneman, Patrick Chaupham, Andy Keith and many others.
Moving over to Sears allows me to take the next step in my professional development, and I’m proud to be joining the Sears Blue Crew.
Before I start at Sears, however, I’ll be taking a week off to run various much-needed errands, including:
- finally writing that piece for Mashable
- hosting the first Chicago Cigar Tweetup; please RSVP if you want to come!
- cleaning out the front closet
We’ve been having so much fun with our #cigarchat Twitter events, we’ve decided to expand and hold the first ever Chicago Cigar Tweetup!
We’ll be having it over at Tesa Cigar Co. on Thursday, March 25 from 6-10pm.
Our liquor sponsor will be Wild Scotsman Whisky, who will be sampling the Wild Scotsman Black Label, the 15 Year Vatted Scotch Malt and the Blend No. 888 scotches.
Tesa Cigars will also be running a Buy 3, Get 1 deal on its own cigars. (You can read reviews on their Vintage Especial and the Cabinet 312.)
You can RSVP for the event here, and the hashtag will be #chicagocigar. Hope to see you there!
Google recently announced the launch of Google Buzz, a service that allows users to post status updates, photos, videos and other content in the hopes of creating a hub of digital conversation.
Sound familiar?
Google Buzz is direct competition to social networks and microblogs such as Facebook and Twitter. Why is this? At launch, Google Buzz had 150 million users in its network, stemming from the fact that Google Buzz is built directly into Gmail.
For those of you not yet familiar with Google Buzz, here’s a demo video:
Here are three potential implications of Google Buzz for brands and marketers:
Look for more and more dynamic, real-time brand conversations to appear in your Google Search results, and not just the forums and occasional tweets you may be used to seeing now. Right now, brand conversations have the potential to be found through social media monitoring tools and the occasional search result. Since Google Buzz is built directly into Gmail, look for these conversations — both negative and positive — to be much easier to find.
Google account? Not yet.
If Google Buzz catches on, there may be a trend towards even more consumers linking up their social media profiles to their Google accounts. (Lifestreaming is a hot social media concept these days). Once this happens, the more their actual e-mail accounts — as opposed to a Facebook inbox or Twitter DMs — will be an integral part of their social media presence.
No longer will customers only have access to people’s Facebook and Twitter profiles; the more consumers use Google Buzz, the more access to e-mail addresses companies will have. If a consumer expresses a product complaint through Google Buzz, their e-mail address should be easier to find.
There’s one side effect to this: You may have a well-established Facebook page and Twitter presence, but there’s a chance brands will start building out strong Google Buzz profiles as well.
Many of the tried-and-true methods of linkbaiting and promoting brand content on social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Reddit, Mixx and StumbleUpon [client] will continue to drive SEO, but as Google Buzz matures, look for SEOers to start funneling this content through real-time conversations there.
- Daniel B. Honigman
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NOTE: This post was originally published on the Weber Shandwick Social Studies Blog.
I originally posted a version of this article last week on the Weber Shandwick Social Studies Blog.
Last week, the Global Language Monitor announced “twitter” was the top word of 2009.
We have seen the good side of Twitter (NOTE: Weber Shandwick helped promote Tweetsgiving) along with the not-so-good. We have seen Twitter used by news organizations and companies both large and small:
The fact “Twitter” topped this year’s list should come as no surprise, but the word’s definition, as cited in the release, may make you think. It is simply this:
“The ability to encapsulate human thought in 140 characters.”
Nowhere in this definition will you find the term “Web site,” or the word “platform.” Twitter is not, nor has it ever been, solely about the service. A tweet can happen anywhere, whether it’s on Twitter — the platform it was designed for — or as a status update on Facebook, or even as a short blog entry on Posterous.
According to the GLM Web site, the survey’s methodology uses an algorithm that tracks words used by the media and others across the Web. No longer do people need blogs to become digital publishers; sign up on Twitter and you’re ready to go.
There’s a reason Facebook, with its hundreds of millions of users, changed its approach to reflect Twitter, with a user base of only several million users: Facebook saw the value of the micro-interaction and elevated it into a central role on its platform.
Twitter, in and of itself, has opened up an even more hyperconnected world, but the Twitter-type interaction — the micro-interaction — often leads to something deeper. Something that happens outside of the platform, whether it’s an e-mail or a phone call.
Weber Shandwick advises clients not to start or run a Twitter account with the end goal of just having one, but to leverage everything they’re doing — their product launches, their promotions, their ideas and their expertise, and their customer-driven insights — and work with them to somehow fit that content in 140 characters with the end goal of driving advocacy.
Brand advocacy, of course, happens over time; it can start with a 140-character tweet.
(NOTE: Best Buy is a client of Weber Shandwick.)
Mollie and I have a Black Friday tradition: For last three years, we’ve gone to the Walnut Room for lunch, where we usually sit near the Christmas tree, and then we do a bit of shopping.
This year, I decided to record some quick thoughts on this year’s holiday-themed windows. Enjoy: