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Breaking the social norms

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Is the Pubic Relations / Media Model Flawed?

Feb 8

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, change, inspire, PR, Public Relations, Quick Though, social norms, technology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

If you are in the PR world or have ever worked with a PR agency, you know that at the end of the day the goal is to get press. You and a million other people!

The system is inherently flawed. Thousands of PR professionals and companies doing it themselves are bombarding journalists/writers everyday for a story about them, or at least references to them in a positive way. This has forced us to make every word count and come up with innovative (tricky) ways to entice a writer to open an email, and follow-up with a pitch on the phone if necessary.

If you have made it to this step, that means that you have something you feel is worth being written about and a press release to back it up. And if you’re a PR agency, you know you put hours of strategy, effort, thought and preparation in to that press release to make your client sound like a million (billion) dollars and a Nobel Prize laureate.

Yeah! Someone you reached out to is interested in covering your client, oh happy day. News comes out… They totally butchered the story, have no idea what your client does and didn’t even include the most important facts! Your client is pissed that the story missed the point and now you have to wait until the media outlet will cover you again. #FAIL.

Media Mind Set

A journalist wakes up every morning with a blank piece of paper or screen that they need to fill – think of them as a realtor and you’re a client looking for space to rent. If they work for a top publication, then they have a full inbox every morning of emails that want to be read. It’s their job to sift through them, find the most interesting one, get some facts, write it up and publish it.

Not to be too cynical, but they don’t really care who the company is or what they do, they have a job to fill space and that’s what they will do. Are they the most qualified to cover a chemical company, or a tech company with some new platform? Most likely not, though they hopefully have some background in it.

This simple model represents the ridiculousness of the media industry – and it is even more skewed then the model shows – where the long tail is completely neglected because it isn’t possible to cover all news.

So ask yourself, who is the expert and most qualified to write the story about a company’s new widget? The company and PR agency is!

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The 10 thoughts that come with an “AH, HA!” moment

Aug 25

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, entrepreneurship, gen-y, passion, technology | 6 Comments

How many times have you been hanging out with your friends or doing something completely random and have an idea just pop into your head? It happens all the time, especially when you’re not thinking about it. I’m going to give you an inside satirical look at someone’s thought process when this happens.

#1 You have an “AH, HA!” moment and think you can become a millionaire over night

Every so often you have an idea that pops into your head that makes you smile. You came up with an idea that will make you millions!

#2 Everyone will want to use this, they just don’t know about it yet

It is such a genius idea that once everyone starts to use it, they will never know how they lived without it.

#3 To tell or not to tell?

If I tell everyone, they will steal my idea! If I don’t tell anyone, I can’t get feedback or help. I’ll make them sign an NDA!

#4 They will pay for it… only if I give it away for free first – Freemium!

I’ll give it to my friends, family and a few other people once it’s ready. Once a few people have it, everyone will want it.

#5 Get thousands of Facebook “likes” and twitter followers

This is the easy part, I have a lot of friends and who doesn’t want to be apart of such a good idea?

#6 Design a website and platform

Hire a few programmers and designers to build an awesome looking and interactive website that will sell my product.

#7 I need money! Let me ask for $500,000 because I can

Investors will be throwing money at me to start this company.

#8 Execute

This will only take a few weeks.

#9 Execute

Maybe a few months.

#10 Execute

Ok, maybe a few years.

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Everyone I Know Wants To Work For a Start-Up: Updated!

Aug 9

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, entrepreneurship, gen-y, inspire, passion, social norms, technology | 2 Comments

It has only been a few weeks,  but I am officially a college graduate. Four long years of bad habits to be broken down and assimilated to whatever establishment feels I’m worthy among the masses. Luckily for me I get to stall this future for another year or so while I go off to graduate school to become a master. For everyone else though, my fellow graduates, the majority of them will move home or to a thriving city to join the “real” world that was only oh so far away when we were in school.

This past weekend, I had dinner with an older friend of mine from college (I only graduated a few weeks ago, that’s weird to say) who has been working for two years now. When she graduated, her job at Company X was a huge accomplishment and the culmination of years of hard work. After a few drinks and some prying questions, the truth came , out – she wants to quit her job and join the exhilarating world of a start-up.

Everywhere you look, you will see some social media, hi-tech company raising money, getting acquired or hitting the million-user milestone. It is all very exciting of course, but you still have to realize that 99% of entrepreneurs fail and that they are actually in the business of failure and not capitalism to put it so bluntly. If that doesn’t shatter your dreams, you’re well on your way to becoming the next Zuckerberg.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of doing so – some of which can go both ways:

PROs – Some positive outlook on why you would want to work for a start-up.

#1 Working with passionate, like-minded individuals

If you start a company you are most likely working with others who share the same passion as you. When you join a start-up they aren’t just hiring you because you are smart and have a great background, they are hiring you because you are someone they want to spend time with.

#2 Less strings attached

One of the major factors that drive people to working at a start-up is the freedom that they are granted. A small company most likely doesn’t have the same corporate structure as other places you may have worked and thus you have the ability to try new things and be more creative.

#3 Everyone is close – maybe even back to back

With most start-ups it’s a rag tag office set up in whatever place that they can afford (hopefully nicer if they received investment) Your co-workers are within arms length, if not a just a simple shout away. This can make for a more enjoyable workday assuming you like everyone you work with.

#4 Inspire Others

One of the best parts of starting my own company was the ability to inspire others to do the same. Anyone can start their own company – hopefully for the right reasons (another post in the works) – they just need a little push and encouragement sometimes.

#5 Stock options!

You have heard all the success stories about companies early on not being able to pay their employees so they gave them some “imaginary” stock options. That paid off huge for the original Google janitor who is now a multi-millionaire. Long story short, if you receive stock you now have a vested interest in the outcome of the company, which will hopefully motivate you to work that much harder.

CONs – Not really the worst things in the world but things to consider.

#1 Job security

When you receive a job offer, hopefully you are looking at it as more of a career and not just another placeholder for the next few years. In the start-up world, companies come and go with the blink of an eye because it is such a crowded and hard place to survive. Be weary that your company can seriously go under at any point and you can be looking for a job again.

#2 It’s just another job

To touch on my first PRO, and this is really only for more of the ego driven bunch, the true excitement of working for a start-up comes from being a founder. This is debatable of course but from experience, while you can work with others or have others work for you, the “glory” and “fame” is usually only for the founders.

#3 9-5 is optional

Your company will most likely have you working the 9-5, but the day doesn’t end until you finish all of your work. Unlike larger companies, some items can wait until the next day, but in a start-up timing is everything and it needs to get done ASAP. How many times have you slept in your office?

#4 Small Budget

Lots of new companies are bootstrapping their way to success, which means less money to spend on most initiatives. In times of drought you either shine or burn out, hence why new companies seem to be more innovative.

Advice from the community!

David Spinks of Scribnia:

My best advice to students who are on the job hunt and worried about whether to go startup or corporate is to not consider anything permanent. Anything can (and will) change at any point in your career. If you try something and find that you don’t like it, then you’re one step closer to finding out what you do like.

Ryan paugh of BrazeenCareerist:

Consider more practical concerns like health care, mobility, benefits and vacation time. You won’t always find these types of luxuries at early-stage startups.

I’ll tell you what though. If you can get past all of that stuff and focus on the pros you listed above, you’re going to get a learning experience that you can’t necessarily find any place else.

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I hope that these reasons inspired or discouraged you to join a small company. My goal is to give you a realistic point of view that the press and other publications are unable to do.

What are the other PRO’s and CON’s of working for a start-up?

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Social Media Rant: Anyone can push a button but how do you make it count?

Jul 5

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, gen-y, Linkedin, social media | 3 Comments

As a recent graduate (still weird to say) and avid user of social media I have numerous profiles across the web. For the past two years I have adamantly tried to get my friends and fellow Gen-Yers to embrace social media to assist them in their networking and job searches. While I was successful on a few fronts, it never caught on as originally intended.

Lately I have been getting invites from friends to connect on LinkedIn and other professional networks, which is great. Unfortunately I have drawn a line between my professional and personal online life and take it seriously. So when I get an invitation to connect on LinkedIn with a generic message “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” from a friend with an incomplete profile, I get a little twitch in my neck. As much as I love my friends and want to see them succeed, I refuse to accept their invitation. If they don’t take the time to complete their profile and think that by pushing a button with the click of the mouse that they can join my network then they have missed the boat on the meaning of social media.

When I get an invite on LinkedIn or any other professional network from someone I don’t know with a generic message, I simply reply to them asking for an introduction and why they would like to connect. The point of social media is to be S O C I A L. If I connect with someone whom I don’t know for unknown reasons then they are of no value to me and can actually be detrimental if someone asks for an introduction to them. This is almost like the only debate about quality over quantity. Is it better to have 10 close friends or 100 acquaintances?

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Creating BlueSkys on a Cloudy Day: Interview with Entrepreneur Matt Ackerson

Jun 1

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, college, entrepreneurship, gen-y, innovation, inspire, Interview, passion, technology | 1 Comment

As I look over my balcony in the city right now, I can see everyone scrambling for cover due to the approaching thunderstorm. Not only is it an inconvenience, but also from a business prospective think of all the lost revenue that restaurants and retailers lose out on because no one wants to travel in the bad weather. What would it take to incentivize you to go out in this weather? Would you go out to eat if it was a few dollars cheaper, or if you got a special deal on your meal?

My friend and fellow serial entrepreneur Matt Ackerson solved this dilemma with his company Bluesky Local, which is the world’s first Slow Sales Response (SSR) marketing solution. All around the country, bad weather has been blamed for dropping sales, as much as 28% in certain locations.  As a consumer, all you have to do is sign up at your favorite participating restaurants and they will send you notifications every time they have a special deal or discount because of bad weather, slow days or holidays. It’s that simple!

Believe it or not, Matt started Bluesky Local in college! That’s right, when he was just 20 in his dorm room at Cornell, he built the initial platform himself and started partnerships with local businesses. My initial thought when he first explained it to me was that he was trying to make the world a more efficient place. In order to find out more, I interviewed him so that he could share his knowledge and experience with you.

1. You started your first company in college, what inspired you to do it and did you have any idea what you were doing?

I had little clue of what I was doing. All I thought was that it would be a fun and great creative challenge to create something that could change the world around me and do it from scratch. I was inspired to do it because I wanted to change things, and making money as a by-product was not such a bad trade-off either.

2. Being a college student, were there benefits, setbacks or any other problems you encountered along the way? How did you deal with them?

I tried to drop out of school at least once. I didn’t see the point in doing it when I was learning so much more from entrepreneurship. Looking back, there was a point… It enabled me to “safely” experiment with different start-up ideas and make mistakes. This was good in many way, but there was definitely a huge time trade-off. I’m not sure if I would make the same decision again. I don’t like playing it safe.

There were plenty of setbacks and problems to solve along the way. None of them really mattered, so long as the scope of my vision remained undeterred. The scope of your vision in life is the only thing that constricts your success.

3. A lot of companies don’t solve problems the way yours does. How would you describe the pain that you are trying to alleviate?

A business has fixed costs for keeping their restaurant or store open 6 or 7 days a week. If it’s a slow sales time, those fixed costs remain while customer traffic plummets. Bluesky Local helps business owners to get a grip on sales dips because there’s a clear pattern to when and how sales slumps occur (e.g. a Monday, a rainy day). By automatically sending out coupons to consumers it helps draw them back in during that slow period. This incrementally increases profitability and helps businesses to move more time-sensitive inventory than they otherwise would.

Check out the video below to understand the pain he alleviates!

4. Did you have a mentor or someone to talk to for advice?

Yes, but it’s important to always make up your own mind based on your own reasoning or instinct. Don’t let others overshadow your own judgment simply because they have more “experience.” Experience is overrated, just like advice. You have to live with your decisions, the advice-givers don’t.

5. Now that you have graduated, is it different to run a company? What has changed?

That “safety net” is gone. The desire and pressure to make a stable income can be overwhelming if not kept in check.

6. What advice do you have for a current college student looking to start their own company?

Do it. Stop reading this and do it.

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For more information check out Bluesky Local , follow Matt Ackerson on twitter or connect with him on Linkedin

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Common Sense Isn’t That Common

Mar 2

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, common sense, inspire, passion, social norms | 3 Comments

Have you ever thought to yourself when talking to someone that something is “common sense.”

I have come to the conclusion that common sense, well it just isn’t that common these days. Why is this happening?

The underlying problem is that there are just to many things going on today that anyone you meet should have a general understanding of what you may be talking about. According to Wikipedia “Common sense is based on a strict construction of the term, consists of what people in common would agree on: that which they ‘sense’ as their common natural understanding.”

So according to the common consensus on what common sense is, they say that it is something that “common” people would agree on. Our world is so diverse and constantly changing that I find it hard to find someone often enough that shares my same understanding to be able to call it common sense. This is an industrial age, web 1.0 word that needs to be changed for modern times.

My question to you then is what is the new 2.0 word that would fully encompass the meaning of common sense in current times? Or if you like the notion of common sense, defend it!

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The Generational, Technological Black Hole

Feb 23

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, change, social media, social norms, technology | 2 Comments

While these may sound like they coincide, they actually are two separate things that overlap with some gray area. Also the title is in a particular order as the generational differences are first an foremost the underlying issues at hand, the technology is just what makes it more convoluted and scary.

We are in the midst of a recession the likes of which we haven’t seen since well, The Great Depression of the late 1920′s. Is this how we want to be remembered though when we look back on this like a bottle of wine, “Oh yes, I remember 2010, that was a bad year.” The answer is no, because I won’t let it happen and neither should you.

Our Generation – I’m talking roughly about Gen-Y – is known for being rebellious, strong headed and misunderstood. We are the product of our parents generation who unfortunately didn’t grow up with the luxuries that we are so accustomed too, for instance our abundance of information thanks to the technology that binds us all together. We have grown up in a faster moving society then ever before and it will only continue as we move forwards because of the Law of Singularity, which states that “through a law of accelerating returns, technology is progressing toward the singularity at an exponential rate.” Gen-Y is only trying to assimilate itself to the current times but at the same time being bombarded by studies, research and corporations to try and get into our heads to see what makes us tick so in the end we can buy their products. It’s the sad truth but the truth of the capitalistic society that we live in.

Now, Technology only fuels and clouds everything I just talked about. It is true that we grew up with the Internet so to speak, so we “understand” and “get” it. Whatever that means is in the eye of the beholder based on what they want to hear. The BIGGEST misconception I hear day after day is that:

“Gen-Y is connected to the Internet at all times, loves to use social media and knows technology like the back of their hand.”

While the first part is generally true, the rest of the sentence is way off. Most of my friends don’t have a twitter account – let alone know what it is besides what they see on TV. They do Facebook though – a lot – but does that really count as social media if it is only posting pictures and comments on each others walls? I have found that it is actually the older generations and professional who use Social Media (Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) effectively because they think that we use it and want to profit from it.

So here is my Black Hole scenario:

  1. Everyone wants to get in touch with Gen-Y through Social Media, which most of us don’t use. Statistics show this

  2. Social Media “experts” teach us how to effectively use Social Media to accomplish step 1. It is generally older people teaching older people how to reach younger people.

  3. By the time someone finally “understands” Social Media and how to use it, it is to late because a new technology comes out and Gen-Y has moved on.

  4. A vicious circle of learning and trying to apply it. This is were you get lost in the Black Hole.

No one has all the answers because everything is constantly changing. If you are really passionate about Social Media or whatever it is that you might do, it is up to YOU to keep up to date on it and learn from other people. The “Black Hole” is not a bad thing to get sucked into as long as you don’t get lost. My advice to you is that “Nothing is as it appears to be” until you see it and feel it for yourself. Take everything at face value until you determine it’s validity for yourself.

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Focus Focus Focus: You Need a Target to Hit

Feb 18

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, business, change, creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, inspire, passion, social media, technology | 4 Comments

My father happens to be a New York Angel, so I have read a lot of business plans (all confidential) that have gotten companies funded. As of late, more and more of them are becoming increasingly general in terms of their “target” market and who will use their product/service. To give the benefit of the doubt, the majority of them are tech start-ups that are just looking for mass adoption – a shot in the dark that even Robin Hood has a hard time doing. I think that this is a symptom of the digital revolution and the maelstrom of web 2.0 social media.

With the advent of social media, a lot of marketing plans (I’m guilty of it as well) revolve around the notion that if you create a blog, you tweet or Facebook then you’re all set. FALSE.  Creating a marketing plan revolves around your strategic marketing initiatives and the way you will execute them, that are set up to fulfill a goal or milestone you have set in place.

To gain some focus, here are a few things you should remember when defining your target market and reaching them:

  1. Define your target market with as much detail as possible. It is great that you have a social media plan that covers a broad range of markets but you need to pick one that you can focus on. This will help you with the wording of your content to make it pertain to a certain demographic.
  2. Back up your target market decision with reasons why you chose them over another market. You obviously chose your market because they are the consumers interested in your product/service and will pay for it. You’re convinced of this, but you need solid evidence and proof to back up your decision as to why you choose them.
  3. Create a plan to deliver value and information – Online that is all you are known by. This sounds easy but each market is only receptive to certain kinds of marketing initiatives and wording. If you are targeting Gen-Y, you generally want something short, quick, simple and to the point opposed to the older demographics that generally put a little more thought into it. The wording though is the most important because it needs to factual and sell the product but it also can’t offend anyone and discourage them.
  4. Join social networks or communities that your target market is in. It’s hard to believe but there are actually other social networks out there beyond Twitter and Facebook that you need to find. There is a blog, network, community or forum out there that your market participates in that you need to be active on. Find them!
  5. Execute step 3 in a timely and ordered fashion. This is one of the hardest things to do because you have so much information that you want to deliver but you need to be patient. Social media and marketing initiatives take time to settle in and deliver results for the most part. If you put out to much information, it can look like spam but if you don’t put out enough then you don’t seem active and no one will notice you. Delivering value is a delicate balancing act that you need to master quickly.
  6. Analyze the results and plan accordingly. This is critical to the success of your campaign and it’s effectiveness to your target market. While social media doesn’t have a set formula to determine ROI, use the information and data you have to figure out your reach and influence. For all of initiatives, you can do the same thing.
  7. Change your target market if necessary. No one is perfect and can predict the future. Either you chose wrong based on research you had or your product/service changed since you started and pertains to another market – it happens often! You now have more information and experience than before and can make a better decision.

With my first company, we initially started out targeting college students and Gen-Y (all 18-32ish) as we felt they could use our service the most. After a year of tedious work trying to get them to use our service, we realized that it was an uphill battle with little to no returns. We actually changed our target market in order to realign our focus on a market that could really benefit from our services with a realistic chance of acquiring them as a customer.

The lesson is that on paper, one market looks very appealing but once you start to interact with them, you understand their true intentions, wants and needs. Sometimes the spray and pray method works but it is always better to start small then think big.

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Breaking Social Norms #2: The College Education

Feb 11

Posted by Trace Cohen in breaking social norms, change, college, creativity, innovation, passion, social norms | 2 Comments

It seems now a days that getting a college education is something of a must. In many ways I support that, but does that mean college has to be confined to a campus? Many students are starting to take classes online as it becomes more popular as it can be completed from anywhere at a fraction of the price.

Don’t get me wrong, I love almost every aspect of college and being a student. I just feel like something got messed up over the years as it seems as most of what we learn can not be applied in the “real world.” This won’t be solved by taking a class online either.

I’ve heard the excuse that college is a time for you to “figure out what you want to do with your life,” or “figure out everything that you don’t want to do.” Too many students graduate without any idea of what they want to do or even how to do it and then end up in debt. The fingered can be pointed at just about everyone for this problem, whether the student didn’t try hard enough, the teacher just wasn’t qualified or even the curriculum is outdated and/or not challenging enough.

Right now the average job seeker is changing jobs every 18 months, which is causing a lot of problems in the professional world. Most of our parents have had the same job for 20-30+ years and if they were laid off, they really don’t know how to do anything else sadly, as they never were required too. Nowadays we are being taught for things that don’t even exist yet.

Way back, the educational system was based off of apprentices and master were the student would maintain and do a craft for the rest of their life. Is that to crude and rudimentary for today’s world? Are there to many niche professions that this wouldn’t work anymore?  I have a double business major and a minor in information tech and am still looking for ways to apply it, with the hope that this broad range of knowledge will land me something.

Is everything moving to fast for us to be able to catch up and teach or is it time for an educational reform? How can we fix this, or is it even a problem? Please share your ideas with us as this is something that will be changing soon.

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