Crazyworld

...along with the rest of our blogs, as we switch to WordPress.

You can now find me over at http://crazyworld.blogs.goupstate.com

Hopefully, the comments, categories and easy-to-find URL will follow.

See you there!

"Hi! Thanks for following me. This is truly amazing, sharing ideas and knowledge..."

"Thanks~Yeah~ Let's trade Tweets! if you're open here's a treat- the best 100% FREE PPC Training EVER..."

"Thanks for the follow! Live for today...|Thanks for the follow...give a smile get a smile|Been down-sized? Do something now..."

Yeah, I don't know what that last one means, either.

Suffice it to say I was blown away that my short story on brand strategist Olivier Blanchard's presentation yesterday at the Social Media Club Spartanburg's July meeting was the most-read story on our Web site today. I mean, I can't talk about numbers, but this is getting the attention usually only reserved for heinous crimes, scandals... or stories about restaurants. People love restaurant news, particularly stories about Wild Wing Cafe, it seems.

Since this story had a lot to do with Twitter, it was only natural to assume that Twitter users would be among the people reading it.

So I used the little do-dad at http://backtweets.com to see who all was helping disseminate the information. I mean, it wasn't like this was a story I had spent weeks on, tireless hours devoted to research and writing. It was a drive-by piece that attempted to touch on some of the themes Blanchard spoke on.

Anyway, I started following several of these people who appeared to find interest in my work. (It's considered polite.) Almost immediately, it started happening: Private messages sent automatically via Twitter telling me how to triple my followers, make money fast or whatnot. A few are posted above. It's been hours, and they're still filtering in.

Before dropping these peoplebots, I glanced at their page one last time... and a lot of them were the same or similar. Many were social media "experts," entrepreneurs, enthusiasts or whatever other name wayward public relations and marketing people have coined for themselves to try to take advantage of the Next Big Thing.

And that's when I realized it. I've had a series of conversations with people lately, about public relations in general and social media in particular. When I heard that in one large U.S. city, 80 percent of the public relations people didn't understand the media, I found it hard to believe. When I heard that out-of-work marketing people have begun to (sometimes indignantly) take up the mantle of "social media expert" -- whatever that is -- yet these people don't understand how to use social media, I scratched my head again. Things were starting to make sense, though. And then today, everything became crystal clear.

I should point out that there are plenty of people in news, in public relations and in marketing who do, in fact, get it. I just didn't think there were so few.

There's a good number right here in the Upstate -- I've mentioned Blanchard, who goes by thebrandbuilder. There's also Trey Pennington, Doug Cone and, a bit further away, Kristi Colvin. There are others. I'm sure I'm leaving someone out, and if you are one of them, my apologies. This is written on the fly as I take a break from deleting people who have accounts that are programmed to say how thrilled they are to meet me. (And this AFTER I had this conversation with Jason Zacher about how auto-DMs -- Twitter lingo, sorry -- were bothersome.) I mean, if you're really happy to meet me, it takes less than a minute to look at my profile and get a hint that I don't want your auto-gratitude. Seriously, one person's handle was something like "I FOLLOW BACK." Well, that's a #fail.

In the unfollowing frenzy that... umm, followed, I noticed that nearly every person I was distancing myself from had something in common: They didn't interact with anyone. They just pushed links and information onto people.

Is it really that hard to listen? To have a conversation?

As a reporter, I remind myself often to listen. Sometimes, during interviews. Sometimes, when I'm listening to audio recordings of interviews after the fact and realize I talked too much.

But to successfully use social media you have to listen. You don't have a choice. Or else you might as well be a robot.

This was a topic Blanchard talked about recently. One quote from an earlier story I didn't have room for, when we were talking about social media: "This isn't a fad, because it's not about technology," he said. "People aren't going to stop talking to one another."

The platforms may change. Some of you may have "outgrown" MySpace. Some think Facebook is on the way out. Some of you, particularly if you are a knitter or a Second-Lifer, may Plurk. There are tons of other platforms. One that intrigues me that I haven't spent much time with is Tumblr. Former state GOP director Jay W. Ragley recently devised a stellar way to use that platform, posting pictures, videos and comments about a cross-country trip he took.

If you are familiar with Twitter, you've probably seen people brag about the number of followers they have. I've mentioned before it isn't a popularity contest. All you have to do is listen, participate, and whatever success you were looking for will probably find you with less effort than you were putting into it in the first place.

When it comes to social media, whatever platform you use, if you participate, you are a leader. If you just listen but don't feel the need to chime in just yet -- that's fine, too. But if you just try to accumulate followers and bombard them with information they may not want or need, you're not leading. You're in the way.

In all the hub-bub that followed Gov. Mark Sanford's admission that he had an Argentine mistress, that he lied to his staff, that he actually saw her more times than he originally admitted, that some of his closest allies and Republican Party leaders have been urging him to resign... there was a promise.

That promise: His public schedule would be released in the future. It's been a busy month and, perhaps to the governor's surprise, other things have been going on. But I seem to remember hearing that timeless word in politics, that such a move would aid in "transparency" and help the governor build back trust.

While the likelihood of that happening is debatable, here goes the governor's schedule as released to the media today. Read below the press release for more on this.

----------

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
MARK SANFORD, GOVERNOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:   Joel Sawyer - 803-734-2100 - jsawyer@gov.sc.gov

Gov. Sanford's Public Schedule - Mon., July 13 - Fri., July 17, 2009

Columbia, S.C. - July 13, 2009 - No public events are currently scheduled for this week, but we will advise individually for any event added. Gov. Sanford will be working in Columbia for the week, with intermittent trips to Sullivan's Island.

Meetings and briefings Gov. Sanford will take part in this week include:

- Meeting with staff and First Steps Director Susan DeVenny regarding the potential transfer of the Baby Net program from DHEC to First Steps

- Meeting with new Emergency Management Division Director Ricky Platt, who was named recently to succeed retiring director Ron Osborne

- Briefing by Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom regarding the work of the Stimulus Oversight Task Force

- Briefing by Board of Economic Advisors Chairman John Rainey regarding revenue forecasts in advance of the following week's BEA meeting

- Receive a revenue update from state Department of Revenue Director Ray Stevens

- Receive an economic development briefing from Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor and Deputy Secretary for New Investment Jack Ellenberg

- Briefing by Department of Social Services Director Kathleen Hayes regarding the upcoming release of an LAC audit of DSS.

-###-

----------

Now, you wouldn't have found this information out by looking at the governor's Web site, as the press release section hasn't been updated in weeks.

But, really, does this go far enough in detailing the governor's schedule?

When I first heard of this, I thought we'd see something more along the lines of a daily itinerary... you know, something with much more useful information. (BECAUSE INFORMATION IS REALLY THE KEY TO TRANSPARENCY.)

I thought we'd see a day-by-day breakdown, specific meetings with specific times, the occasional redacted items that pertained to personal business or things like economic development. Personally, I feel those things should be made public, too, but I'm just one small voice. I also thought travel details would be included -- by car, by plane, whatever.

To me, this isn't transparent. It's translucent at best. (I know I've used that line before somewhere, but -- hey -- it fits.)

But what do you think? Is this enough? Are you comfortable knowing Sanford will receive a handful of briefings this week? Are we in the media too obsessed with this poor man's personal life and need to get one of our own? Let me know. Feedback and (constructive) criticism is always appreciated.

In the days following the presidential election, I've been going over in my head the best way to try to put into words how the race factor played out in the Upstate, particularly Spartanburg County. Looks like it's going to be a work in progress.

But I think the best place to start is by paraphrasing the last story I wrote for the (Kinston, N.C.) Free Press before coming to Spartanburg. It was a sidebar to the final package in a year-long series I'd done on race relations in that area called "Separated by Silence."

It began, and I may be paraphrasing, "In the South, where people love to talk, race can be one of the hardest things to talk about."

Sorting through the many fearmongering, slanderous and attack e-mails I received from both the right and the left in the months leading up to Election Day -- particularly the last couple of weeks -- two themes out of many really piqued my interest.

From whites, I often heard an underlying theme of "The blacks are taking over!"

From blacks, I often felt in the background a sentiment of, "The whites are trying to take this away from us!"

One of the more fascinating things is that the two groups were trying to scare themselves into voting.

Now, don't get me wrong: I'm sure plenty of people voted from their heart, casting their ballot for either a military hero who wasn't afraid to buck his party line or an inspirational speaker and community organizer who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds for legitimate reasons. But because there's been so little attention to race relations in this state -- again, particularly in our area -- it's hard to discern who did and who didn't. In a couple of months, more concrete data will be made available from the S.C. Election Commission, hopefully offering more insight into this.

Obviously, some people voted against Obama because he was black. Likewise, some people voted for him only because of the color of his skin. While the election of an African-American to the highest office in this country is assuredly a victory for the civil rights movement, I would think that the state this country is in right now is too dire to let race be the single determining factor in someone's vote.

Ever since I came to this paper a little over four years ago I've had conversations with various editors about the need to do a project similar to "Separated by Silence" in Spartanburg. History. Violence. Racial tension. Politics. Media coverage. Focus groups. Community meetings. Examples of what has worked and what has not in other places. We even talked, at one point, about making race relations an issue in state and local elections.

The problem is, I'm less sure today about how to even begin to approach such a project than I was four years ago. When I hear constant bickering between the two races, when I hear the fear between the different groups, when I hear white people refer, in a surprised voice, to blacks who are "well-spoken" or "articulate" or "Oh, my, they dress so nice," and when I hear blacks accept that as OK, then I'm not sure this area is ready to have the conversation.

In Kinston, there were two main camps of black politicians -- one that preferred to sit down and discuss things rationally, and another that was rooted in anger. Both sides had in their number community leaders who had seen crosses burning in their front yards as children. Upbringing, education, life experience, and personal ambition -- there's something to be said about keeping people angry or fearful to retain a place of power -- distinguished them. But I'm not sure if I see the same initiative among black leaders here. (There are some notable exceptions, though I'm not quite ready to name names because, frankly, I have a lot of learning to do and don't want to leave anyone out who deserves to be on the list or, conversely, name someone who's all talk and no walk.)

I'm starting to wrap my head around it, though. I got a fair number of calls during the primary about whether the local Democratic Party, particularly the white members, were doing all they could for Barack Obama -- and for black candidates down the ticket. For a long time there was (and perhaps still is) some lingering resentment over the Clinton-Obama tussle, which further muddied the waters. Now that things are over, some people are starting to be willing to go on record. The challenge for me is to ask the right questions.

Perhaps the most promising thing I've seen in the last month or so -- I haven't gotten out much lately, obviously -- has been right here in our own forums. TalkUpstate regulars know that message threads can quickly devolve into petty name calling, partisan bickering and ignorant rants. But I've started to see a few comments from regular people (I usually don't know their race unless they reveal it) about some of the very things I've tried to spell out here.

This is a project I'd like to pursue. I just want to do it at the right time and when enough people are ready and willing to participate. It will require people examining some of their own beliefs. If the first thing you tell me is that you're not racist because you have plenty of friends of the opposite race, then you're not really adding anything to the larger discussion. Whether this project begins to advance depends on interest, a willingness to participate and a willingness to talk about touchy subjects.

If anyone's interested in this topic, please feel free to post here, e-mail jason.spencer@shj.com or give me a call at (864) 562-7214. A project like this takes a lot of time, a lot of resources and a lot of planning, so if you just want to call and chat for now, that's fine. It could take months to even develop a list of stories that would come out of this.

So, I guess that's all for now. Looking forward to continuing down this path.

Feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Rachel and I carved pumpkins this year. Guess who did which one? Hint: I'm from eastern North Carolina, near where Blackbeard lived and East Carolina University.

Oh, great.

It seems Twtter is being invaded by opportunists scooping up bunches of names.

I've avoided it for so long. I guess now it's time to take the plunge.

Millions of people watched Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial last night.

While one can argue the effectiveness of such a ploy, I think it's safe to say that the Obama campaign has officially moved beyond politcking and is now firmly in the realm of marketing.

It happens more every election cycle, but there's always been some overlap. Now, the Obama brand seems to have sealed the deal. The point of an infomercial is to sell you a product. And that's what the Obama camp was trying to do: sell you their product. They even had a toll-free number pop up at times. I half expected the guy who looks like one of the Brady Bunch actors to jump up in the middle of it and try to sell something that enhances "that certain part of the male body." The only thing missing was what special offers you'd receive if you call within the first 15 minutes.

Now, critics will say (actually, they began saying this within minutes after the ad aired) that the infomercial was "over-the-top" or "too much." Most of those critics are on 24-hour news channels -- or in the blogosphere -- which have helped drive our media-obsessed culture with their constant up-to-the-minute updates on everything from political campaigns to car chases to pop stars. They helped make people want this. Obama simply gave it to them.

This is the next step in the evolution of political campaigns. Years from now, people will look back to Ross Perot as the pioneer and Barack Obama as the one who perfected it.

Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, one other thing was missing from Obama's prime-time sales pitch: a money-back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied.

On my long journey to get caught up on my comic reading after moving last month, I've decided to go back and re-read some titles that I'd gotten really behind on. One is the superb "Doktor Sleepless" by Warren Ellis and published by Avatar Press.

On the second pass, I rediscovered the Datashadow, a wiki that anyone can use. It's just one of the many buried treasures that makes this comic so cool.

This time, I went further and poked around on http://grinding.be/, a blog authored by a select group of fans. From there, I discovered this fascinating essay on the evidence of a global superorganism. Check it out.

The best radio station in the world, 88.7 WNCW, is holding its annual fall fund drive. I can't really afford to donate this year (my girlfriend has contributed in the past), so I figured I'd do my part by helping spread the word.

Click here for the radio station's Web site.

Really, 88.7 has made me realize there is still hope for radio. Considering the mind-numbing commercial-driven stations that most markets are stuck with, we have a channel that really does offer an eclectic mix of virtually all types of music. It helps that there's such a rich local music scene in western North Carolina and the Upstate. Chances are if you are a fan of any Spartanburg artist, they've been played on WNCW. The station deserves your support.

Carolina Barbecue -- which has locations on Hearon Circle and Blackstock Road -- has launched a "Fork over your vote" jellybean poll.

The premise is simple. When you finish your meal, you're given a jellybean to drop in a jar for John McCain, Barack Obama or undecided. The poll will run through Nov. 2. Results will be posted weekly at the restaurants, or you can visit www.mycarolinabbq.com. (Today's count puts McCain ahead with 161 jellybeans, compared to 48 for Obama and 39 undecideds.)

"It's a great way to get the community involved," owner Michael Hicks said in a press release. "It's [sic] also teaches our kids how important it is to start voting and being well informed about who to vote for."

Hicks stated that in 2004, the poll accurately predicted George W. Bush would win the presidential election.