Dino Baskovic Can’t Lose

Get this through your head now: there is no room for racism. Not in 2010, not ever and certainly not on my Wall.

Yesterday, I posted the following status update to Facebook:

Dino Baskovic just sent in his U.S. Census form. Have you?

I was pleased to see so many "yes" responses. Then one of my friends asked why the 2010 Census form uses the term "Negro" when asking for one's race. It was a legitimate question that has raised some ruckus in recent months, which led the Census director to blog about the matter back in January. Agree with it or not, that is what appears on the current Census form.

Being an open thread, I wanted to see whether any other respondents would offer an answer, even a mere link to a Census site FAQ. I went back to work, only to regret having left the thread open as long as I did. An otherwise good soul left an unfortunate, racist remark in bad taste (I won't honor the comment by reposting it here).  I immediately deleted the remark and later offered an apology to the thread, going so far as to "unfriend" the individual in question.

I felt the remark was in poor taste and wholly offensive. Perhaps in some areas of the country, as we can be painfully reminded that times have not a-changed, such speech is acceptable. To me, that kind of schoolyard "humor" ended after recess a long, long time ago, and it wasn't even funny then. Truthfully, it was shameful then as it is now.

Such are the perils of social media. From time to time, you invite the occasional, unintended numbskull that you so badly want to sit down with behind close doors, smack them on the back of the head and ask, "what on earth were you thinking?"  Of course, you have a reputation to protect, even if they themselves don't. My advice? Act swiftly. Apologize profusely for the action, as I did, and make no apologies for removing said comment, even banning said poster if warranted.  

Luckily, the respondents appear to understand what was an isolated incident. It saddens me to no end that someone who is otherwise a nice person would think in such terms--or not think as it were.  Sure, we all make mistakes and I have expressed myself online in ways I wish I could take back in retrospect. But some lines you just don't cross.

Some forms, however, you do cross. At least fill out, like the Census. There's still time to do your part, no matter your race.

Here are ten joints you may want to reconsider before checking in on Gowalla or Foursquare:

1. Adult "entertainment" venue, and I don't mean Applebee's after 9 o'clock
2. That place you see your paramour, and I don't mean the band
3. Rival gang turf
4. Border patrol if you are a spy
5. Dark alley to interview, only later to reveal, an anonymous source
6. Your bank, after hours, in the vault, holding power tools
7. Hot job interview while gainfully employed
8. SXSW when you're not actually there, poser
9. Betty Ford, or that place Tiger checked himself into
10. Jail

The subject of geolocation sparked some interest during yesterday's social media presentation I gave to InterCom Kalamazoo. The independent consultants, recent college grads and transitional career types in attendance were certainly no strangers to Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Yet they struggled with the value of status updates in those social networks. "Tell me again why I care that my friend is drinking coffee, or a certain brand of coffee, or whatever?" was the general consensus. (I'm just as guilty, bearing my soul to my Facebook friends that I've switched to decaf. Do you really care?)

Some connections do care, and according to Mark Zuckerberg, you do more than you think. So do marketers, though they're not so concerned about you as they are your connections and how they interact with you. No so much my taste in coffee but the brands that my friends, and their friends, consume, how often and, these days, where. Reigning geo champ Foursquare just announced a joint promotion with Starbucks on the heels of its Bravo deal:

Heavyweight contender Gowalla is not far behind, with multiple brand deals, its own promo with the Travel Channel, sponsorships of the recent Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and Haitian earthquake relief efforts. Both rivals are a hot topic in Texas, speaking of SXSW. Each are accessible on multiple mobile platforms, and are consuming more of my mindshare than I care to admit. The optimist in me sees geolocation becoming a permanent fixture in social media. The pessimist sees the fervent adoption this latest bandwagon and then thinks back to Second Life.

Regardless, geolocation is a game changer. Google wants in on the action with its Latitude and Buzz apps. Twitter just added geo-location to tweets and Facebook is not far behind. Somewhat related, I brought up Blippy to yesterday's lunch crowd, and they immediately scoffed at the notion of broadcasting their credit card purchases. Given the inherent privacy concerns, I can't blame them one bit. Still, one of my points yesterday was to "fear not the cosmos" and for all we know, they could be managing geolocation campaigns for their companies or clients in the not too distant future.

On a personal note, I've played with Foursquare and will inevitably get dragged kicking and screaming. Tagging my "20" isn't my current cup of tea, but don't be surprised if I'm chirping about some chai concoction over wi-fi before long. Had the "First Mama" had Foursquare, she may have even allowed mobile check-in at the boozey bin. But I digress. Grab a cup of joe and a mobile app and see for yourself whether geolocation is right for you and your cause.

Five o'clock on Friday.  Quittin' time.  As the TGIF status updates spill all over Facebook and Twitter, I turn to my trusted bourbon of choice, Maker's Mark.

Not that I need a bracer so late in the day.  Then again, the night is young, I haven't blogged in a bit and I need some "spirited" material to end the week.  'Nuff said.

The above billboard photo is borrowed from the Maker's Mark Facebook fan page.  Like most bourbon/whiskey/spirits/beverage brands, Maker's is an active social marketer.  Bill Samuels, Jr., president of Maker's Mark, personally and frequently blogs with new recipes, sampling events and other good reasons to get my butt back to Loretto.  (Last time I visited, I dipped my own bottle in red wax, dined at their downtown Louisville steakhouse and ordered a personalized barrel which awaits my return.)

I am also a card-carrying member of the Maker's Mark Ambassadors -- and that's no joke, they give us business cards.  So when I stumbled on the fan page today, I was pleased to see the Ambassadors in action.  I don't know how this started, but the M.O. is to announce yourself as an Ambassador from where ever you live along with well wishes on their wall.

Now that is grassroots branding at its best -- from the Bluegrass State, no less.  Simple, personal, influential.  I guess all of those holiday tchotchkes they mail each year to Ambassadors pay off.  That, and some consistently good and reasonably priced hooch helps.  So what if Maker's Mark "only" has 40,000+ fans on Facebook, compared to one pickle's 1,500,000+?  Memes come and go, but the marketers will take a smaller but fiercely loyal fan base any day, myself included.

Hats off to you, Mr. Samuels and company.  Online and off, your sense of community is truly on the mark.  And now, I think I'll find myself a rocks glass.

I love Nickelback.  There, I've said it.  They're Def Leppard for the new millennium, their music is rife with radio-friendly riffs and cherry soda pop lyrics and I don't care:

"I love you.  I have loved you all along..."

That's me, singing along in the car like a sissy.  But before you stop reading in disgust, I've seen your iPod.  Manilow?  Puh-lease.

Critics pan Nickelback so widely that it's become an Olympic medal sport.  Love 'em or hate 'em, their music sells extremely well.  Like any big act backed by a major label, they have a flashy home page, fan sites, the requisite MySpace profile and more than 1,400,000 fans on Facebook.  Oh, and some friendly competition from a pickle.

As reported last week (Billboard, CHARTattack, Switched), somebody launched a Facebook page of a pickle (your garden deli variety) with the sole intent of attracting more fans to the pickle than Nickelback.  The pickle is well over the million fan mark and is gaining on the band fast.

Diehards and detractors alike are in on the action and the pickle has already spawned its share of mashups and merchandising.  At the end of the day, it's a harmless prank involving an inanimate object and all in the name of fun.

Or is it?

Keeping it kosher
I googled around and saw no response from Nickelback, their record company, any lawyers or publicists.  No word from from their web site, blog, even the band's own Facebook wall.  Not a peep to the press.  Nothing.  I'm assuming they know about the pickle, that by now somebody brought it to their attention.  Which leads me to wonder, "Do they even care?  Will they have a sense of humor about the situation, perhaps go so far as to root for the pickle to prevail?  Is the band staying mute and letting it blow over for some reason?  Or are they 'lawyered' up?"

Any variation of scenarios can play out.  You can see the band serenading a larger-than-life pickle live on stage, Flip cams capturing the footage and securing the gherkin a 60-second segment on a future episode of VH1 "I Love the '10s: 2010" for posterity.  The Facebook meme ultimately fades into obscurity, Nickelback releases another crappy album and I lap it up like a sick puppy.  We all move on.

Maybe the band has other plans.  Some musicians have zero, and I mean zero, sense of humor.  Even if Chad Kroeger and fellow band mates find the pickle utterly hysterical, that doesn't mean the suits-and-ties think likewise.

"We will vigorously defend our intellectual property"
It would not surprise me in the least to read of a cease-and-desist filed by the band or the label, even a lawsuit claiming irreparable damage to name and image.  At the very least, infringement of legal trademark.  And maybe it's not just the Facebook account holder that is disposed, but Facebook as well.  Any ISP that refuses to block their domain could find itself in the crosshairs.

Sounds far-fetched?  Welcome to marketing.  The music world has struggled with its love-hate relationship of the web since the advent of Napster and the iTunes Music Store.  Never mind that the tiniest blip of a blunder is tweeted and a musician's image is tarnished overnight (this means you, John Mayer).  While the dill debate pales in comparison to that asshat's gaffe, if ticket sales slump, you better damn well believe that pickle is going down.

For most of us, Facebook is fun and games.  We don't see the harm in a silly little pickle, nor care what repercussions the world's most popular social network may face should the subject of said silliness turn sour.  It's a pickle, for chrissake, I know.  But I get nervous posting copyrighted material to my blog, and I am very much in the minority when it comes to respecting original works.  Heck, the header graphic that leads this post is stretching it.

Regardless of my pathetic, bedroom poster-like devotion to Nickelback, I am pulling for the pickle.  I figure it'll top a million-and-a-half fans by the end of next week, if not sooner or a sexier Facebook fad swoops in first.  If the Canadian quartet is cool with the cuke, they may even be able to grab more attention, fans and $9.99 downloads.  Maybe the lead singer is the lone punman, that is a pickle in his leather pants and he is happy to see us.  Maybe that's TMI, but there's a lotta bread-and-butter on the line, and I mean the green kind that folds, not crunches.

Wakey wakey, egg on facey:

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Ah, the joys of being on a corporate build.  Of course, I'm going rogue on IE7 (the standard here is still IE6 on XP).  I can't get IE8 until our Windows 7 roll-out, so I'm told by super-secret sources.  Until then, I'll keep sneaking in my Mac.

Okay, another story on social media and security, or lack thereof.  Ho hum.  I almost passed on the podcast, but Pandora was slow today so I ceded.  And wouldn't you know it, the end of the audio was a telling tale.

Forget the hubbub about imbibing online and the inherent HR risks.  What if it meant denial of health coverage or jacked up car payments?  Ouch.

Moral of the story: social media = social morality.  Or lack thereof.

Wine is decidedly more accessible when served by a robot.  Snug Harbor was no match for The Spotted Cat.  Electric trolley cars of the past are the wave of the future.  And when you snap shots of sugary beignets with a BlackBerry at 3 a.m. thinking your Facebook friends will care, it's time to call it quits.

Hmm.  Thinking I'll have to convince the boss that New Orleans is our next conference destination.  Breakout sessions on Bourbon Street?  Put the "social" back in social media, I say.

                             

Click here to download:

A_steady_diet_of_status_update.zip (1597 KB)

From Twitter:

eBay/Paypal and MillerCoors are donating a cent per hashtag (via tweet, Facebook update, or blog post). The campaign is aiming for a Guinness World Record 'for the distribution of the largest mass message through social media' in one day.

Also: Social Media Campaign to Beat Cancer Eyes Record in Guinness Book (via Mashable)