Comcast New Social Media Seminar

 We are all wrestling with the explosion of social media. Do we twitter, facebook, Digg, RSS, ning, bling, WHATEVER?  What does it all mean? Is it just information overload for people with attention spans the size of a gnat?

 Media giant Comcast had a group of us over to their spiffy, and LEED certified (!), new digs in Philly on August 4-5 to talk about all of this media noise, and what it means to non-profits, and communication strategy in general.  Boy, did we get an earful from some major leaders in the field, like Andrew Bleecker, who ran the sensational social media campaign for President Obama, and Tom Mattzie, founder of MoveOn.org, one of the early leaders in online fundraising tied to political causes, and Julia Angwin, tech writer for the Wall Street Journal- not to mention that she’s a Pulitzer Prize-winner. 

 We also heard from Frank Eliason, or “Famous Frank” as his colleagues call him. “Famous Frank” is the guy who ventured into Twitter-land a couple of years ago to deal with some negative stuff flying around cyberspace about Comcast. With single-minded purpose, his “How can I help” message is helping Comcast turn its “big bad boy” image around and “Famous Frank” now has upwards of 27,000 followers and 10 people in his department who twitter constantly.  Comcast also has Scott McNulty, chief blogger, and some visionary leadership that sees the future shaping up in the media world.  

 Sit down, kids, cause this stuff is here to stay. 

What we non-profit execs learned was a whole new way to look at the world and to reach the people who care about what we do. No, it really isn’t just a lot of noise, it’s about what we should be doing anyway. Building relationships, and treating our customers with respect and honesty.  The social media phenom is brilliant because it truly allows people, including us, to have a voice and to connect with others who care about what we care about.  Going viral can sometimes be dangerous, as we learned. Do we let our followers in to our websites and start creating their own content and messages? What happens if we lose control? Big questions that must be answered.  But the message from our speakers was clear. The rewards far outweigh the risks.  Be who and what you are, and always remember Frank’s mantra. “How can I help?” seems like just the right thing to say at any time.

 Thanks, Comcast. I’m following you now! 

Dee Billia, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Appel Farm Arts and Music Center