Month: May 2010

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Painting: Chicago Creativity Explosion

Twice now I have gone to Chicago and had a creative explosion. No, I’m not talking about meeting up at creative expos, meeting creatives or even taking photographs. I’m talking about painting.

Most times when I’m in Chicago, I like to visit with one of my closest and most cherished friends. She is creative person by nature, as am I. So it’s no wonder that we sometimes just hunker down and start painting.

Painting, for me, is an emotional release; an exploration into myself through color and shape. Since most of us are busy all the time, we really don’t stop, paint and enjoy the process and the outcome.

It’s always a great time seeing her and so amazing to spool up the old creative energy and lay waste to canvas. So, with that said, I have some pics here to share with you.


An item of note: I didn’t actually finish any paintings, but that’s fine. Also, in one of the photographs is one of her paintings. I feel like I should say that so as not to take ownership of her creativity.

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Son of Erik Mixtape Release: Slash

Slashing for dancing. This mix has a sense of being a dance track that you would hear in a club or where ever you just want to dance. Some great dance tracks slashed with some remixes of your favorite songs. This mix is full of energy and life, so make sure you finished your redeye or redbul before you listen to it.

I have provided a link for you (at the bottom of this post) to download the mixtape. (If you would like it split into tracks, let me know, and I’ll provide.)

The track-listing is as follows:

Fire Up The Shoesaw (LP Version) – Lionrock
Galvanise the Eye of the Tiger – Survivor vs The Chemical Brothers
Magic Carpet Ride (Steir’s 1999 Ride Club Mix) – Steppenwolf
Don’t Let Go – LMC & New Radicals
Up & Down (Superclub Mix) – Scent
Something On Your Mind (Switch Remix) – MYNC Project
What You Waiting For (Jacques Lu Cont Vocal) – Gwen Stefani
Sweet Dreams (Frank Valency & Alan Garcia mix) – Eurythmics
Shot Away (Club Mix) – Pawn Shop
Hear My Name (Feat. Spalding Rockwell) – Armand Van Helden
You Spin Me Around – Dead Or Alive
Round and Round – Bodyrockers
Jump – Girls Aloud

Download Slash Here

These mixes are not intended for sale or reproduction. Son of Erik does not and will not receive any proceeds from the production of these mixes. Please respect the copyright of the original artists that have been listed.

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Facebook Privacy Fiasco and the Reasons I Like Facebook

There has been a lot of negative press lately regarding Facebook and their institution of Open Graph and their changes to privacy. People seem to be in an uproar over Facebook messing with “their” information and privacy even to the point of users deleting their Facebook account and writing their opinions on blogs.

Let me be clear, this post is not one of those “How to delete your Facebook account” or a “Facebook privacy damages users” posts. I’m writing this post to inform you of my reasons and rationalizations for KEEPING my Facebook account.

    1) OPEN GRAPH:
    Open Graph is a good thing. There, I said it. I agree with Zuckerberg when he said this is a new way to build communities, measure influence, meet new people and bring the world closer together. I believe Open Graph is just the tip of the social media 2.0 iceberg. What you are going to see in the coming year(s) is more integration of sites. I personally want that. I know that some of my interests will be made public, but only interests I decide to post.

    2) PRIVACY:
    I have done my due diligence and education of privacy settings on Facebook. I understand how to limit the flow of information on my profile to other users, corporations and the public. Since I understand that, I’m fine with the adjustment to the settings because I understand them. In the social networking landscape, it’s a little unreasonable to have a 100% expectation of privacy. Zuckerberg also said it best, if you don’t like it, leave. It’s a little brash, I know, but it makes sense. Facebook profiles are not owned by the users, the users borrow space on Facebook’s servers.

    —> Sidebar: However, I do get discouraged when Facebook has bugs and makes mistakes when it comes to privacy. An example would be when you could view other user’s chats. That is unacceptable, but was immediately remedied.

    3) NETWORKING:
    Facebook is a very valuable tool when it comes to networking. I am a social media guy, this is my job and a little bit of my life. For me to do away with a major social networking site would be an idiotic decision. Plus, I like meeting new people, learning what we have in common and finding out information from brands.

    4) MY JOB:
    Like I said in #3, social networking is my job. I have to be on there.

    5) INFORMATION:
    Facebook has a massive, MASSIVE flow of information running through it. It’s easy to keep up on current events, what your friends are doing, where they go, what businesses are doing, where the next networking event is, etc. I’m a sucker for information, I always want more.

    6) PROMOTION:
    If you use it properly, it’s great way to promote a business or yourself.

    7) MYSPACE:
    It’s not MySpace

    8) SEO:
    Being on Facebook adds to my search engine results.

    9) FRIENDS:
    I enjoy the fact that my friends are on there sharing what they are doing day-to-day.

    10) MYSPACE:
    It’s not MySpace

I know this may sound a bit over the top, but in all seriousness, being on Facebook isn’t a bad thing. The change in privacy isn’t a bad thing. The introduction of Open Graph isn’t a bad thing. Ignorance breeds malcontent. I’m sure that once some users do their due-diligence on understanding how to use the Facebook privacy settings and what Open Graph really is, like I have, opinions may change.

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Social Media Personality Conflict

I found myself thinking more and more about the personalities that we as social media and community managers develop for the brands we create and manage online. In part, a good social campaign creates a voice, a personal voice with which we engage the community. Part of developing that voice is developing a brand personality. However, when we create that brand persona we add a little bit of ourselves to it. Whether that little bit is our own voice, our history, loves, likes, style of writing or whatever; a small part of ourselves exists within the brand personality we use to engage users.

Now, if you are a social media or community manager, chances are you already have your own personal brand established and your own personal voice. Day to day, you switch between your work voice and your personal voice with a little bit of an overlap. Some might say, a good social media manager can separate these two; that’s a little bit naive. We aren’t built to separate personalities. No matter how hard you try, there will be a little bit of yourself in your online persona whether it be personal or professional.

A duality then exists inside of your head. You are two separate people, yet the same person; day-to-day. A question develops: How do you manage multiple personalities? You are an extension of your online persona. You are two different people, maybe three. Sometimes it maybe difficult to differentiate the two. If it becomes difficult manage, you start to notice overlap or become somebody completely different; in which you lose your sense of personality. Then where are you?

I’m not saying it’s a superhero mentality; one minute Clark Kent and the other Superman. What I am saying is one minute you are General Electric and the next yourself.

I wonder if the back and forth of persona is healthy.

I wonder if, in the long term, it changes the way we effectively manage our brands and ourselves.

I wonder if, in the long term, this duality can become a disorder where you completely lose your sense of self.

Or maybe, your sense of self is a duality?

At what point to you become the voice you established for the brand you manage? Or, does any of this matter?

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Personal Social Networking Rules

400+ million users on Facebook and 100+ million users on Twitter, social networking is becoming more prominent and more invasive. This medium has grown so quickly and we’re all eager and willing to pick up the technology and use it.

Some of us, whether it be inherently or actually spelled out, set up rules for ourselves, our brands, that we adhere to when it comes to posting. I have always had a set of posting rules in place for my social presence. The rules were always just in my head. So, I decided to spell them out for you to see if you agree with them or not, or just to inform you what you will not see from me.

    Politics:
    I am a fairly political person. I enjoy having critical discussions on the nature of government and social change with my friends and family. I make an effort to respect the opinions of others and enjoy learning new points of view. However, I will not speak/post about any sort of political subject on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. It’s not beneficial to me. Plus, that’s not what I’m all about. I’m a designer, social media guru, music and art lover. Those subjects are what I post about.

    Talking politics has become such an intense practice, especially as of late. It polarizes people, it alienates opinions and encourages confrontation. That’s not what I am about. I encourage opinions, knowledge and engagement. I see no real benefit to post about politics unless you want to get into an argument; and I don’t want to do that.

    Religion:
    Oh boy, this topic is just as polarizing and intense as politics. I am a spiritual person, and that is probably the last you’ll hear of it. I respect other people’s beliefs by not speaking about beliefs.

    Negativity:
    Social networking tends to be a “happy” place. From what I’ve noticed in the 5+ years I’ve been on social networking sites, is that the environment promotes positivity. No one likes an angry person, so no one likes an angry extension of person. I’m not saying I won’t be critical, I’m saying that you can be critical without being negative. No fights, no swearing and no alienating other users.

    Personal Adventures:
    Yes, I check in on Foursquare at the venues I go to (not all of them though). I inform my followers of the networking events I attend. However, I believe a disconnect from social networking sometimes is needed (at least for myself). I don’t think that everyone needs to know about all of my adventures when I’m out and about, nor do they probably want to read it. So, with that said, certain times I don’t bring up what I’m doing, where I am or who I am with. It’s nice to unplug a bit and it’s certainly great to keep some adventures for yourself.

    Promotions:
    Please RT me. Do you need design services? Do you need social media services? I don’t like to receive these via Direct Message or via spam bots. I’m sure that if people want those services from anyone, they’ll do their due diligence and find out the companies with the right fit. I do like to promote my blog content and stuff, that’s just because I think it’s a good read. But you won’t find me trying to pitch you my services. I know, that may sound like I’m not a good marketer, but that’s not what my accounts are set up to do.

    Automated Feeds:
    Why do you want to go to Facebook and read something that is on Twitter, or vice versa? The content that I choose to push through my tied in accounts are pushed through for a reason. Not just to post something, but to post something of substance. The use of linked and feed accounts are only for ease of use and workflow, not to just push content. When I post something, and a user replies, you’ll be sure that I’ll reply to it. There is always a reason behind my madness.

    Job Seeking:
    Yes, I’m looking for a job. I have been looking for a job for quite a while now. I have integrity and I’m a little proud I guess. I won’t outright ask users for a job. I won’t randomly post “Leif Fescenmeyer #design #socialmedia #chicago #milwaukee #lookingforwork” or something like that. It just feels to me that it’s a little desperate and a little too vague. Plus, if I were to look for a job in social media, using social media like that; it obviously shows I don’t know what social media is. (PS> But, if you do want to talk about an interview, I’m not against that. Ha Ha…)

    Privacy:
    This is a big one! We all have concerns over our privacy. If you want users to respect your privacy, respect theirs. Posting of photos that I wouldn’t want posted of me, retweeting protected users, and handing out contact information are all against my rules. Granted, I may break this rule from time to time, but rest assured it was not on purpose and I try to make sure if/what I post about others is vetted by that user first.

Keep in mind that we all are fallible. Yes, these are my rules and rules are sometimes broken by mistake. So, let’s just say I try my best to adhere to these guidelines.

What guidelines to you adhere to? Do you disagree with any of mine? (Remember, to disagree doesn’t always mean you have to be negative.)

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Recap: Thank You Chicago!

Well, with much ado, I traveled to Chicago on Wednesday and stayed to Thursday. (Thank you to Laurie for putting me up for the night.) My travels to Chicago are fairly frequent, so it’s not an uncommon thing for me to go there. But, meeting people from the Twitterverse is fairly uncommon of me.

I had the pleasure to meet with my friend @fromdy3to60618 also I had the chance to meet @applegirl and @veronicaludwig. Both are very welcoming people full of knowledge and excellent conversation.

It was great to see my long time friend @fromdy3to60618 during his lunch. It has been a while since I’ve seen him and we had a lot to catch up on. I know our conversation was short, but I’m sure I will be down there once again to hang out with him more.

@applegirl is the voice behind @edelmandigital, a large digital services agency in Chicago. Come to find out that she loves to meet people IRL (In Real Life) from the online community, which is pretty excellent of her. That, in my opinion is exactly what social media is all about, social conversation not just in the virtual world, but extending that into the physical one. We had a brilliant conversation regarding social media, where I want to be in a few years, Chicago, life at @edelmandigital, iPhones and iPads. I would like to personally thank her for taking time out of her lunch to visit with a neighbor to the North.

@veronicaludwig is an independent recruiter. Now, this woman is full of life and hilarity. We have been meaning to meet up in person for a long while now. She is just as selfless as @applegirl in extending her hand out to new people, especially those who love Chicago. Over coffee in Millennium Park, we spoke about my ambitions for the Chicago market, what I specifically do, where her career is heading along with some fun conversations about media and networking.

After these sessions, I met up with my friend Laurie to get prepared to head to the @Razorfish recruitment party. In all honesty, I didn’t know what to expect out of this. I knew there would be many people attending, but I had no idea there would be a line of 75+ people out the door waiting to get in. That really illustrates how many people are out of work. From there, we left, got dinner and decided to head back and chat up over some wine.

All in all, it was a fairly exhausting trip, exhausting in a good way. I met some very cool and welcoming people from Chicago. @applegirl and @veronicaludwig catalyzed my belief that Chicago is a very open and nurturing city. I can’t wait for the next time I head down there. Hopefully I get to see them again and meet others. (And possibly, get a job.)