Social Networking: Navigating Uncharted Waters

Joshua W. ThomasMedia Relations Manager, Port of Portland

Transpacific Maritime Conference, March 2, 2010

Outline

1.Social networking is more evolutionarythan revolutionary- Old concepts, new applications

2.Moving forward can start with a step back- Do you have a usage policy?

3.Control your message or someone else will- Take ownership, leverage capabilities

Evolution?

Years it took to reach 50 million users

•Radio - 38 years•Television - 13 years• Internet - 4 years• iPod - 3 years•Facebook - 100 million within 9 months

Source: Social Media Revolution

News travels fast …

iPhone photo by Janis Krums, posted to Twitter four minutes

after splashdown

590,755 fans

318,141

views

News travels fast …

Two categories of (mis)characterizationsDismissive

• Just a passing fad• It’s for kids• A waste of time, resources• Lacks a business purpose• No employee usage policy• Identity theft threats• Too complex to learn• Wait it out, do it later

Overblown

• “Communication Revolution”

• Need it to stay relevant• Can replace ads, outreach• Bring in consultants• Everybody is doing it• They are talking about us• Reap results like celebrities• Do it before it is too late

Campaign Examples

Orville and Wilbur Wright• Twitter, ads, news release, newsletter,media appearances, essay contest

I Fly Nonstop• Facebook fan page, You Tube, ads,testimonials, Haiku contest

Be a Local Superhero• Web video contest, ads, news release, newsletter

Portland Harbor: Behind the Scenes

Other Examples

Model usage policy examples

•Massport•Port Everglades•Port of Beaumont•Port of Tacoma•Port of Long Beach

•Kodak•Wells Fargo•Edelman•Mayo Clinic•U.S. Army

It is happening with or without you.

Source: mashable.com

Resources

Monitor• Google News Alerts, Blog Alerts• Tweetbeep tweet alerts

Adopt a policy• Findlaw’s legal technology center• American Association of Port Authorities• Colleagues, industry contacts

 Assess capabilities, strategy• Your own employees/coworkers, your network

Resources (continued)Establish a presence• Free Linked In business page, Google Business Profile page

• YouTube channel, Flickr photostream• Start Facebook and Twitter accounts with limits and controls

Measure success• Edelman Tweetlevel, Quarkbase, Radian6, Google analytics

• Free surveys, polls

Stay informed• Brian Solis, Chris Brogan• Mashable

Source: vedlo.com

Remember the “social” in social networking

Our tools are changing

Source: Brian Solis and Jess3

Thank you.

Joshua W. ThomasMedia Relations Manager, Port of Portland

www.linkedin.com/in/mrjwthomas