Disqus - Latest Comments for rickmahn

Re: Plastic Pollution Reaches Surprising Levels Off Of Pacific Northwest

Rick Mahn — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 21:41:50 -0000

You know, someday an enterprising group of people are going to go harvest this "sea of plastic" and sell it to reclamation companies. Hmm, one wonders if it'd be worth looking into.

Re: My Tough Decision to Get a Regular Job

Rick Mahn — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 23:54:40 -0000

Congratulations Justin! I share your frustration with the current state of social media marketing. Heck, last January, I did much the same and ended up going back to my original field of IT.

I'm familiar with DAP products, so I look forward to your approach and wish you the best in your new role!

Re: McAfee WaveSecure: $20 for iPhone. Free for Android? - SocialTimes.com

Rick Mahn — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:09:32 -0000

Actually, it's $19.95 for Android as well. The initial download is a trial, Android users do have a 7-day trial period, but then must upgrade to keep the service.

This is probably due to how Apple handles in-app purchased - but that's only a guess.

The sad part is that we have to be thinking about this kind of software for mobile devices at all.

Re: Blog lists: Dying breed or critical community-building tool?

Rick Mahn — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:28:04 -0000

Arik,
Well thought out post on the topic. Lists are great for lots of reasons, and people need to remember that most blogs are an expression of the authors themselves. These kinds of lists also tell us a bit about the writers behind them. How they approach the selection process, methodologies, personality, creativity and so on.

If every list was simply how we ranked on Google, or Alexa, or PostRank - how boring would that be? Its nice to have a variety of ways people approach lists, and more importantly, so many different perspectives on the blogs that host them.

Great post Arik!
-R

Re: The cost of free

Rick Mahn — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:40:21 -0000

Kasey,
You summed up what my answers to the discussion very succinctly. Our idea about content vs. value has been radically shifted by the ease with which we consume said content. I too find it difficult that I'll soon have to pay for some of the content I've gotten used to getting for free for the last couple years. However, it is a mindset that does need to adapt to the economic realities of today, and the realization that someone is spending time and money to produce that content we enjoy for little or no cost.

Great post that gets a person thinking.

-Rick

Re: Grrr Apple Grrr

Rick Mahn — Sun, 09 May 2010 23:28:30 -0000

Simple 'fix' for tonight: download the trial and order the software. ;-)

Re: Minnesota Monday – Communications Bloggers Posts From Last Week

Rick Mahn — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:13:05 -0000

David, thanks for including me in your post this morning. So many great people doing great things here in Minnesota! Cheers to everyone.

Re: Innovation and Midwest Values – Kitchen Table Talks

Rick Mahn — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:07:08 -0000

Beautiful lands... you're quite kind because I seem to remember we welcomed you to town with a minor blizzard. :-)

Thanks for some great conversations, they've got me thinking even more about local folks and the good things they do.

Re: List of Corporate Social Media Strategists, Corporate Community Managers in 2010

Rick Mahn — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:47:00 -0000

A couple things, though our Feed division is further along than dairy at the moment, connecting with customers with "ask the expert" advice, though more is in the works. Dairy has a number of things in the works for 2010, and those will make it live by mid summer. Internally, there is ongoing education opportunities and challenges that I'm working on. You can find our Horse Feed folks on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/PurinaHorse?r...) and twitter (http://twitter.com/purinahorsefeed).

Thanks Jeremiah!

Rick

Re: List of Corporate Social Media Strategists, Corporate Community Managers in 2010

Rick Mahn — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:16:48 -0000

Jeremiah, I'd like to be included under the CPG category for Land O'Lakes - I'm the social media strategist, working with Interactive Marketing, Corporate Communications and IT.

When are you making it out to Minneapolis again? :)

Regards,
Rick
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickmahn

Re: Social Media MiNterview: Rick Mahn Land O’Lakes & SMBMSP

Rick Mahn — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:13:30 -0000

Thanks Jeff! The more I talk with folks, the less worried I am about the orgs that aren't "out there" yet. We're all figuring it out. I do wish there were more fun and exciting things I could point at right now, but we're early in our efforts. I am looking forward to 2010 and some "interesting" things that are being planned. But that's a story for another day. ;)

Re: Social Media MiNterview: Rick Mahn Land O’Lakes & SMBMSP

Rick Mahn — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:59:34 -0000

Hi Jeff,
Actually we have a couple accounts in HR for recruiting that are being used. They're http://twitter.com/landolak... for general jobs, http://twitter.com/landolak... for IT jobs and http://twitter.com/purinaho... for our Purina Mills Horse Feed (betcha didn't expect that ;). Folks can find up to date job postings from those two accounts. Not exactly what you're talking about, but something I'm pleased that our HR team is using right now.

I'd love to say we're in the process of spooling up that Twitter account that you pointed out, however the reality is that we're not quite ready yet. I certainly know that we should already be utilizing it to interact with our customers right now. I think I know what you're getting at, and I wish I could give you a clear answer.

I'll put it this way: my efforts right now are best spent on some internal education effort related to social media concepts, usage, business value and related topics.

One final item we've got out there is again related to engagement our Purina Horse Feed division is doing. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sea... where we answer questions and tips about the products and usage experiences.

Re: Twitter’s lists make Chris Brogan feel bad

Rick Mahn — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:36:07 -0000

Of course, to look at it another way - if Twitter had called them "Groups" and kept them visible only to the twitter account owner, would using them still be exclusionary? ;-)

Re: Twitter’s lists make Chris Brogan feel bad

Rick Mahn — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:33:54 -0000

Heh, :-) you're always on one of my lists (it just changes day to day). I do like the differing POVs as it makes me think more than I usually would.

Here's a question for you: What about a corporate twitter account making a list? Would that constitute an endorsement by the sponsoring corporation? Would they understand that?

Cheers Robert.

Re: Twitter’s lists make Chris Brogan feel bad

Rick Mahn — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:11:49 -0000

Ugh. Is this the start of another A-List pissing match? I'm disappointed you even took the time to write about it.

Re: Changing Sandcrawlers

Rick Mahn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:08:14 -0000

Congratulations Josh!
They made the right choice, no doubt about it. We'll have to trade stories, there are so many things that BBY is doing that others can learn from. I'm sure you'll have a lot of interesting discoveries as you move into the new role. Good luck as you transition to BBY.

Cheers,
Rick

Re: Why I wont be at #smbmsp tomorrow.

Rick Mahn — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:10:40 -0000

There sure are growing pains. Some good, some bad. I too really miss the 30-40 folks that could have real group conversations that can't scale into the hundreds. Sure the August event and also the June event are very large, and more about socializing around SocMed than learning about techniques, tools or methods.

However, right after the very large June event was a much smaller July event at which we had a knowledgeable panel on non-profit use of SocMed. Had quite a bit of great feedback about how useful that session was.

We are a vibrant community and we do have enthusiastic people, and we do have varied backgrounds that are looking for different things. And that is what makes this a great location to practice social media locally.

Cheers,
Rick

Re: Why I wont be at #smbmsp tomorrow.

Rick Mahn — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:33:53 -0000

Mitchell - we hear you.
The goal for SMBMSP is not to have the coolest or largest. What you're describing is in part because of the feedback and suggestions from the group itself to a certain degree. Interest is quite extensive, and the attempt is to meet the majority of folks needs and expectations.

I'll challenge you on a portion of this though. One of the many things on my agenda by doing this scope of event is to promote the larger MSP community of SocMed professionals. We have tremendous talent in this metro area from multiple disciplines. From time to time, it is necessary to share and promote what makes MN SocMed folks special, and in this case, why not do that at a respected event such as the Minnesota State Fair?

You are quite right about SMBMSP adressing "Social Media 101". It is a free event, that is focused on helping folks understand the value of these new mediums of communication. Be it for internal collaboration, or for external interactive marketing. There are many business people who hear the buzz and are looking for a low cost way to start learning about "social media".

For those of us who've been practicing social media for extended periods of time, or that have simply grown up with it, it surely is basic information. It's also us who needs to help spread that knowledge around and help folks understand how these tools add value to those who are looking to learn. I'd love to have you help mentor and teach instead of abstaining from the event - you have a lot to share.

As for more advanced content, stay tuned. There are many, many good things coming.

Kind Regards,

Rick Mahn
Social Media Strategist & Consultant
Founder, Social Media Breakfast - Twin Cities (SMBMSP)

Re: RibbonBar mimicry from OpenOffice – too funny

Rick Mahn — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:50:45 -0000

Huh, strange. While I didn't mind the ribbon much when I moved to Office 2007, I *do* find it very curious that OpenOffice would copy such a feature. Kinda upsetting in a way as I always found OpenOffice to be the essence of knowledge worker tools - all the things you needed, but not much of the stuff you didn't.

Re: Warm the Mug

Rick Mahn — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:54:23 -0000

Ever wonder why we're impressed with good service? Enough so that we actually focus our attention from the meal or conversation to the actual service that we get?

At the same time we receive an outstanding service during that particular meal, we also contemplate how easy it is for most to fail at delivering that service. It all comes down to ownership - the intent and pride in the workmanship of the product we deliver.

The great part of this story Chris, is that a great server who really delivered was truly appreciated by someone who notices the small things - and who helps to communicate why those small things are so important.

Kudos to Andrea for her great service.

Re: Are You a Trust Agent

Rick Mahn — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:57:18 -0000

Excellent post Chris. I'm finding many more folks who fit this description, as I'm sure you are too. The trick is for these folks to find their voice inside orgs and help teach & raise awareness of why relationships are important in place of traditional practices.

Let me know if you want to stop in Minneapolis/St. Paul during the book tour. We'll be happy to host you both and meet with the local social media community here.

Kind Regards,
Rick

Re: Once+Again%2C+The+Justice+Department+Is+Confused.++Tech+Companies+Steal+Employees+From+Each+Other+Every%26nbsp%3BDay.

Rick Mahn — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:35:46 -0000

@Juan, your touching at the real conflict of interest here: "People and talent have the right to value themselves".

As an arm of the Federal government, the DOJ investigating the movement of employees (talent) from one company to another strikes closely at our individual rights as citizens.

Regardless of whether the employee was a key component to a companies management staff or a support staff employee, they're free to choose their employer if they are fortunate enough to have multiple options.

Companies need to compete for talent as much as they do for customers. This is a good thing.

I'll echo Erick in the article above and suggest the DOJ go look into real anti-competitive practices and let this one go.

Or is the DOJ too afraid to go after strong & powerful lobbyists that fund the congressional campaign coffers?

Ok, end /rant! ;-)

Re: How many languages do you speak?

Rick Mahn — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:57:57 -0000

Arik,
Great post! You've captured the essence of what a social media professional needs to be. There are so many differing aspects to the job, that it takes a person with multiple interests and passions to be able to be effective.

Each of these diverse groups are looking for common things in social media solutions. The complex part, as you mentioned, is the vastly different perspectives and understandings that they have regarding the potential solutions.

Well done my friend!
Rick
(@RickMahn on Twitter)

<abbr><abbr>Rick Mahns last blog post..It depends…</abbr></abbr>

Re: Ian Schwartz's Tumblelog

Rick Mahn — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:35:39 -0000

Looks like a good turnout. Wish I was there!

Re: Shup The Hell Up You Self-Promoting Turd

Rick Mahn — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:31:58 -0000

Thanks Chris, another great post to bring folks back to reality. It's needed time and again.