Please Feed the Animals and Social Media in the Age of Layoffs

I read an interesting article today in Ad Age about an Ad Copywriter that was laid off who started a blog, Please Feed the Animals whose mission is to "To eliminate the barriers between advertising agencies looking for talent and talent looking for work by providing a free online venue for professionals to showcase themselves online."

The tools available now are making organizing the unemployed way easier. For example, the day after I was laid off I started a group on FaceBook for all of the ex Starwood employees to chat, post jobs, support each other etc. Within a few days, there were a lot of jobs posted, a number of recruiters had joined, and people were finding people. Erik's blog offers the same kind of dynamic. LinkedIn has countless groups and recruiters have told me most of their days are searching on FB, LinkedIn etc for prospects.

Its nice to know that the days of being unemployed, alone and unsupported are quickly coming to a close.

Twitter vs FaceBook: When Tweeting Goes Good

So, why Twitter? Whats the value? Does everyone care what I am doing at 3 am? I read what other people write but for some reason, I think they care what I write. Maybe its out of boredom, maybe its out of a need to feel connected. Maybe its all about the ego?

I have added the Twitter app to my FaceBook page to streamline my micro-blogging efforts. The real question I have is for FaceBook given the Twitter app. It seems to me that FaceBook could "twitterize" their status and blow twitter away. If you could subscribe to a FB status in an RSS reader, you would never need to look at Twitter!

So, I guess what I am saying is that I am confused, so maybe I should focus on how I use each. I love Twitter's ability to keep me connected to companies that I am interested in. The Marriott, Starbucks, Jack in the Box and especially Zappos tweets are great. All written with personality and offering some insight or useful content.

FB is where I keep tabs on my friends. Its a great place to find out what people I care about are doing.

So, companies, take note. Twitter is a great platform for loyal customers to follow brands/companies they love. FaceBook is a great platform for loyal friends to follow those they have relationships with.

(One side note. For those of you that follow twitter, check out HangInThereJack.com. It chronicles the events that lead up to and include the critical injury sustained by Jack, spokes head for Jack in the Box. Its very entertaining and a little out there which makes it fun.)

The Death of TV? Or "Why would we ever speak to each other again?"

So, the world is obsessed with social media (ok, I am obsessed with social media). Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, etc. Whats interesting is that the world also seems to want to talk about the death of television.

Raise your hand if you watched the Super Bowl? Raise your hand if you watched the Office afterwards?
Now raise your hand if you discussed either with anyone else.

My theory? TV and televised content drive a lot of the "conversations" that take place across the social networks. Think about it. How many "tweets" are tweeting during the Super Bowl? During the Oscars? Even during the Golden Globes or SAG awards? How many FB statuses were changed to reflect some element of the Super Bowl last night?

I spoke on a panel once where the person before me talked about the death of TV in an era of DVRs and the web. It continues to drive me crazy! My first question on the panel was how many people watched Entourage? Almost all hands shot up. The second question was how many discussed it with someone else? Almost all hands shot up.

The point is, things like TV drive social media and provide fodder for micro blogging, blogging, video uploads, music, photos, etc.

So, is TV dead? I think not. Just ask Michael Scott.