Why I don't have a Facebook account

I get it all the time, "You don't have a Facebook account?!" (announced with a gasp of astonishment.) No, I don't have a Facebook account...really, I don't. I didn't just get fed up with Facebook one day and delete my account. I never signed up for one, never have, and never will.

I know many people probably wonder how I can consider myself a marketer and say that I understand social media, but not have a Facebook. Before I get too far let me point out that I have had business Facebook accounts (and that plays into why I will not have a personal one.)

Don't get me wrong, its not that I hate Facebook or anything. I think Facebook is a great social media tool, and have seen first hand the power of it using it as a marketing tool.

So then why don't I have a Facebook account?

1. If you are not buying the product, you are the product.

Facebook is about to issues one of the largest IPO's in history. That can tell you exactly what your information is worth. Having worked on the other side of social media, I can tell you it is amazing what information you can get from people Facebook accounts, especially if you are willing to pay for it.

Yes I know that Twitter, Gmail, Linkedin, and all other social media have a similar method of revenue, but I see more personal benefit to those services.

2. It's a huge time suck.

I can't tell you how many times I would walk past students on campus (even during finals week), nurses at the doctors office, government employees, and friends, all wasting time on Facebook when they should be doing something else. People seem to get sucked in and never leave. I have enough time wasters, I don't need another.

3. It distracts people from personal interaction.

I hear it all the time. Instead of talking to someone, calling them, or even texting someone for goodness sake, people just log on to Facebook to find out about a friend.

4. Controlling your brand.

I think few people understand what they risk by posting things on Facebook, and even worse, what their friends post. Call me a cynic, but I don't trust everyone else on Facebook to keep my best interest in mind when they "post on my wall" or tag me in a photo. I prefer to have more control over my personal brand.

5. Facebook etiquette.

When do you friend someone? Do you friend your boss? Will they be offended if I un-friend them? It is much easier to just say "Sorry, I don't have Facebook."

Ultimately I think it comes down to value offered in exchange for your information. And with Facebook, I just don't see the personal value being that great, especially with so many negatives.

DECA

In high school I participated in DECA, and it was a great experience. DECA was where I got my first exposure to business and marketing and it really drove my decision to pursue business and marketing as a career.

So what is DECA? At one time DECA was an acronym for 'Distributive Education Clubs of America.' They have since dropped the acronym and now it has the tag line: "DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and maagment in high schools and colleges around the globe."

DECA was a great program for me. A large part of DECA are the competitions. Each student has the opportunity to pick a focus to compete in. At the competitions they take a 100 question test and participate in 2 role plays. The role plays are like mini case studies. They have 10 minutes to read and prepare before role playing with a judge for ten minutes. It's pretty intense.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to judge a few events at the National DECA conference that is being held in Salt Lake City. It was a great experience. Over all, I was very impressed with what the students came up with in 10 minutes. I remember well, sitting on the other side of the table during the role plays. It was fun to sit and think about about how DECA opened my eyes to marketing and business years ago, and I was glad I had the chance to give back just a little and help out the current students. I hope that DECA can make as much of an impact on the current students as it did on me.

And good luck to the finalist at nationals today!

Why the Corporate World Should Seek Out Entrepreneurs

Quite often I get asked about my entrepreneur experience and how it will relate to working into a corporate environment. To me this is an easy question.

Being an entrepreneur has allowed me to see and experience situations from various roles, ranging from employee, employer, owner, and everything in between. Having had experience in a variety of capacities gives me familiarity in various aspects of business, such as distribution, manufacturing, project management, human relations, human resources, budgeting, marketing, leading cross-functional teams, go-to-market strategies, positioning, customer relations, and many more. In addition, I have had the experience of starting and growing companies in a down economy and understanding what is required to be successful.

Recently I attended a marketing case competition in Boston at Babson College. They are the #1 MBA program for entrepreneurship. (BYU is #2) The reason the #1 business school in entrepreneurship was hosting a marketing competition is they understand the value that comes from entrepreneurship. On their website they state:

"The entrepreneurial, opportunity-driven mindset is critical for marketers in order to drive growth in both large and small organizations."

I think companies would greatly benefit from seeking out and employing entrepreneurs. So why are companies so hesitant to hire entrepreneurs?

Unfortunately over the years entrepreneurs have been labeled as inexperienced, flighty, scatter brained, and unprofessional. I am here to tell you this is not the case. Every entrepreneur I have had the pleasure to work with has been the opposite!

So if you are looking to gain more experience, or for your next employee, look to entrepreneurship.

WebOS, you will be missed

After holding on to my Palm Pre for almost 3 year (and palm phones and PDS for 13+ years), I finally gave it up this weekend...for an iPhone. It was a sad day. I already miss it...kind of. Anyone who has used a WebOS device understands what I mean. WebOS is such an awesome mobile operating system, but without apps and adequate hardware I had to let it go.

Having an iPad, I knew the trade offs I would make in operating system and hesitantly traded in the Pre. I miss opening new cards, using "just type" and all the on screen gestures. I don't miss a lack of working apps.

As I was trying to decide to switch to an iPhone 4S, Galaxy Nexus S2, wait for the new iPhone (June, October, who knows), or wait for the Galaxy S3, or hope that one day someone buys WebOS and makes a phone, I realized that it comes down to the apps. That's it! Everything else is more or less a point of parody (PoPs). They all have high quality cameras, similar speeds, make phone calls, get emails, send txt's, etc. The app offering is the point of difference (PoDs). This is what ultimately drove my decision. I knew exactly what apps I had on my iPad that I wish I had on my Pre and I know other people who have gone with Android phones for the same reason. Do I love my new iPhone? No, I love my apps. Yes I miss the OS, but the benefits from the apps far out weight the benefits of the OS.

Moral of the story, watch your PoPs and PoDs.

How Customers Think

I have been reading How Customers Think by Gerald Zaltman. I have really enjoyed Zaltmans insights. He introduces this idea that most of our decisions are made by our unconscious mind, and points out that as marketers we tend to focus logical benefits when we make our strategies. Here is a quote from the book:

"The limitation of this belief [that customers can explain their decisions] and the research practices it fosters stem from the assumption that most of our thinking takes place in our conscious minds. In actuality, consumers have far less access to their own mental activities than marketers give them credit for. Ninety-five percent of thinking takes place in our unconscious minds."

What a powerful idea to understand! I think at times we can get wrapped up in frame works and steps and forget to really understand the consumer, and overlook the deep metaphors that are driving their decisions.

I have had quite a few "ah-ha" moments as I have read, and if anyone is looking to learn more about consumer decisions, I highly recommend this book!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog! I started this blog as an outlet for my thoughts, reactions and opinions. Hope you enjoy reading.