Are you a free lancer or consultant? You need to read the Wall Street Journal's special section How To Succeed In The Age Of Going Solo, published yesterday. Two main takeaways: Nail down basic financial bookkeeping, and collaborate well with others -- rather than seeing them as competitors.
Which brings up a question: Why hire a communications consultant? Communications are changing rapidly, and are in disarray for many businesses, small and large. This is not a Band-Aid fix, something that can be handed off to an intern who slaps up a Facebook fan page. What's required is a cohesive, integrated strategy, which involves three types of communications. In my case, I know traditional media, which has changed dramatically in the past few years. I know new and social media; Charlotte Magazine called me "one of the few in Charlotte with actual professional training in social media." And I know face-to-face, from years on networking in Charlotte. I can make a free presentation to your company on what I can provide. Let me know by clicking "contact."
- If you're not on Google Wave yet, I have more invites to the new social media platform called the future of email by many. Yes, it's still buggy and relatively unpopulated. It also gives you a glimpse into the multi-media, shared forum for working on projects with others in real-time. It's worth exploring. For an invite, click "contact," and leave me your email address.
- My favorite new platform is Threadsy, which combines email, Twitter and Facebook on one interface. I find this very useful, because it means just one check-in to see all my messages. Some have compared this to Google Wave, but I see little resemblance. http://bit.ly/ceVRYI
- Charlotte ad agency BooneOakley had two Super Bowl commercials for CarMax on Sunday, involving animals watching TV who respond with astonishment to a CarMax ad. One is the startled hedgehog already famous online. Here's a clip of one of the ads, below.
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