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David Norris is hoping to become President of Ireland.

His website is NorrisforPresident.ie.  That’s hardly a surprise.  There’s hardly a serious politician, political group or political party that doesn’t have a website to advance the cause.

He already has a Facebook page “liked” by 18, 204 people.   A Twitter account Team Norris (@SenDavidNorris) with 6,859 followers & 146 Tweets published.

So he’s shaping up to be an internet savvy candidate…

The news…
David Norris has opened an Audioboo account – it looks as if he’s going to use audio during  his Presidential campaign. If you look at the Audioboo website, you’ll see “David Norris for President” is one of the latest AudioBoo Channels.

AudioBoo is a new medium – a new way of advancing your cause – spreading your message – deepening rapport with your audience, your market.

The Irish General Election & Audioboo…

Simon Coveney, a politician from the Fine Gael Party, has started using Audioboo.  Four days ago he recorded his first audio “Heading out Canvassing”  - to date he’s produced four AudioBoos. It looks as if he may produce daily audio messages.  His personality, image, style, and reputation will be communicated in a new way during the Irish general election campaign.

Joan Burton, Irish Labour Party, has recorded one Audioboo. As has Michael D Higgins three months ago, here… Even Eamon Gilmore, leader of the Irish Labour Party, used Audioboo this week –  as an additional way of getting his message out. There’s also one Audioboo of a recent press conference by Eamon Gilmore & Ruairi Quinn here…

The Irish Labour Party has a “Labour”  Audioboo account.

The most ambitious use of Audioboo (14 audios) so far is the project which is following the campaign of John Gilroy , as he campaigns to get elected in Cork North Central.

Perhaps, with a new leader, the Fianna Fáil Party may even begin using Audioboo too.  Sinn Féin?  Maybe some of the more innovative Independent candidates may also join the Audioboo movement? Perhaps this election campaign will be followed by everyone using Audioboo in future?

Who knows?

How important is Audioboo?

It’s all about using modern communications methods & skills to engage with people.  Audioboo is different.  It’s mobile – meaning you can listen to audio on the move, in your car, while sitting in a café, back at home on your computer…  The citizens are increasingly carrying their own communication devices – some politicians are already keen to learn new skills and keep in touch with what’s going on.

Perhaps Audioboo isn’t so much a way of winning votes – perhaps it’s a really good way of putting down a marker – showing a willingness to move with the times, an open mind – and a spirit keen to engage with audiences in new ways.

Perhaps those who use Audioboo are leaders?  Perhaps Audioboo is a reputation- building tool?

Let’s see whether Audioboo becomes more mainstream in Irish political life… What do you think?  If you were a politician would you use it?

First blogpost of the the 2011 year might as well be interesting…

Might as well address a topic we all have opinions about…

But it is difficult to find a fresh angle on Irish politics… eh?

This is the story of a project that began weeks ago in a café in Glanmire, Cork, Munster, Ireland. It began with me rejecting the idea of having anything to do with politicians. I told a local politician there was no way I was going to support his campaign for election to the Irish parliament.

I’d had enough of politicians – was unwilling to commit myself to the cause of any individual or party. I had a bit of an outburst and went have a coffee to cool down. [This audio piece even shows  I wasn't sure of the proper name of the politician: called him "Conway" rather than "Gilroy"]

Then I starting thinking.  First, I regretted the strength of my words, thought I could have been gentler. Then I realised I didn’t have an alternative to politics – I was irrevocably committed to parliamentary democracy – no matter what I thought of the parties or individuals.

A fresh thought visited.  Perhaps there was a way I could combine my passion for audio with my curiosity? Perhaps I could use audio to explore the process of politics – the way in which an individual went about campaigning for election?

No Irish politician has used AudioBoo to communicate their politics.  I began to entertain the prospect of helping other citizens understand what’s involved in the business of politics.

The detail appealed to me – not the ideology.  What do you do if you hope to get elected to Parliament?

The concept of a case study developed.  That’s the background to how I got into serious discussion with John Gilroy and his election agent. John is a general election candidate from the Irish Labour Party in the Cork North-Central Constituency.

Together we agreed a project – an audio project.  John wants to get elected – I want to help make Irish politics more understandable.  We have different drivers – we have a basis for working together.

My work is devoted to the art of changing reputations – helping businesses to become better known (quantity) & improve how they are perceived (quality). This involves the application of such skills to the political arena. I imagine I’ll learn a lot about politics, political skills & audio through this project.

You can listen to the first six audio pieces here

We’ve all been inspired by others.  We wouldn’t be the people we are without influence of others. It’s human make assumptions – especially to assume a hero will always be there…

Today I got this email from Aodan Enright:

“I learned today that Oren Harari, author of ‘Break From The Pack’ has died.

Amazingly, he actually passed away in April of this year but I only found out today when I checked in on his website. My thought had been “I haven’t seen a blog post from Oren for a while”. Such is how we miss people in this internet age, eh?

I wanted to share a story with you. Since we completed the first ‘Break From The Pack’ programme almost two years ago, I created a task for my action list entitled ‘Share learnings from BFTP with Oren Harari’. I thought it would be nice thing to do to collect some of the insights & applications that had been generated by the group and to feed them back to him. I know if I had written a book like that, I’d appreciate hearing how people were using the ideas to develop their own businesses and careers. And as each group graduated, more and more material accumulated.

And here’s the thing. I never sent it to him.

I know. I can hear some of you making wisecracks already about doing my own course on Procrastination. But, I never did it. Of course, we’ve had some great interactions with the likes of Jeff Jarvis and Mitch Joel but not Oren Harari. And the opportunity is now gone.

So, don’t wait until the ‘right’ time. Don’t put off ‘breaking from the pack’ until next year or when the bond spreads are different or whatever the reason du jour may be. Get going and do it now. As we’re often reminded, we only have one shot at living our lives so let’s make the most of it!

Aodan Enright Smarter Egg – Facilitated Learning & Executive Coaching  aodan@smarteregg.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/aodanenright
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SmarterEgg ”
______________________________________________________________

I’m staring at my copy of “Break from the Pack - how to compete in a copycat economy” by Oren Harari.  Staring at the memory.  The author influenced me, and gave me a business edge.  From the book I took this message -

Make your business different
Make it so different that it can never be copied
Make it absolutely unique

- so that no one can get the same service from anyone else…

I see my margin notes on page 19…

Key questions:

“How can you differentiate yourself from the mob around you? How can you attract and retain customers while charging a reasonable price in this frenzied environment? How can you make your booth and your goods so extraordinary and appealing that you won’t have to continually lower your price to differentiate yourself? And if you do something daring, what will you  do when the vendors at the stalls all around you try to copy what you do? How do you avoid getting drowned in the noise and anonymity of an environment where your neighbor appears to be selling and yelling the same things you are?” (Oren Herari p.19)

On page 35 of Chapter 1 (“Welcome to Commodity Hell”) I jotted these phrased in the margins

- all about “Snowflake”
- unique

On page 36 I wrote

- Create something of unique value.

In a wonderful chapter about Madonna & Willie Nelson, Oren Harari offered this analysis: if you were to “emulate” Madonna’s business tactics you would…

• You’d be constantly changing… you’d be restless with sameness…
• You’d monitor trends… to ‘get there first’.
• You’d reinvent yourself even when your current products & services are popular…
• You’d be constantly experimenting…
• You’d always invite and challenge your customers to change with you…
• You’d be deliberately provocative… (I underlined this)
• You’d always be connected to  reality
• Whatever you’d do, you and your organisation would do with passion and 100% commitment (underlined)
• Your tone would always be optimistic, upbeat and fun-loving…

I took Oren Harari’s analysis and advice very seriously…  I hope it shows.

May he rest in peace… may he look on with pride at his legacy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34053291@N05/

I’m sitting in my office, Sunday afternoon. Listening to Brian Clark (@copyblogger on Twitter) in conversation with Lee Odden.

[These guys are American.  I've met them - via the internet.]

I’m hooked, can’t turn the interview off – even though I have a list of stuff I need to do before going on holidays. They have me glued to my seat on the topic of how to do PR – how to do on-line PR.  There is so much I’d like to learn because I could be better.  These two are heavy hitters in USA – a place where internet experience is deep. I’d like to introduce them to Ireland.

Distracting thoughts…
But I’m not really concentrating fully on them.  At the same time, I have a conversation going on in my head.  I’m thinking how lucky I am to have contacts.  People who’ve inspired me.  Others who’ve got different experience from me. People who help me stay open-minded.

I found Chris Brogan by accident.  Someone mentioned his name and I got curious.  I did a bit of digging, discovered Chris Brogan was really well known & successful.  No one I knew face-to-face had ever mentioned him to me. But he turns out to be really generous and helpful to others. So I picked up a star.

It was @chrisbrogan who introduced me to what I’m hearing  now.  Third Tribe is playing.  I’m listening an audio podcast of Brian Clark & Lee Odden giving instructions on what to do – if you want to get your message out to journalists.  This is teaching me how to get noticed by traditional media – how to communicate my clients’ messages.

Where would I be if I had to do my learning in isolation?

More inspiration:
Another collection of inspiration is Twitter. A flood of tweets threaten to overwhelm me.  There is so much good stuff being shared.  How can anyone cope with it?

Here’s my trick.  I put all the stuff I think looks good – too good to be taken in quickly – too complex to be absorbed now – I put those tweets into a folder – my favourites.  I now have 480 favourite tweets.

My sharing plan:
I’m now going to start sharing my favourite favourites.  I’m going to put up blogposts which are lists of  links I value. I’m going to provide that service – here.  Soon you’ll find a little fund of great stuff here – you may ever find exactly what you’re looking for.

But better that any links you might get from me – you might contact people directly and discover there are many Chris Brogans out there – meaning  there are others who are also fabulous at sharing their world with you.

Do you have a Facebook account for your business?  If so, this article is for you.

Do you have Twitter for your business?  This is dead relevant to you too.

Shut your account straightaway.  Close it down.  Take it out of public view.  Do the closing professionally: announce the move properly – but above all stop damaging your brand via Facebook or Twitter.

You may think me mad.  You certainly think this extreme advice.  I hope you’re interested enough to hang on a minute – just to see what’s driven me into this position.  After all, “everyone” is rushing headlong into social media – new “free” media.

There are so many businesses using Facebook badly in Ireland.
They set up an account, open up a presence – and then set about undermining the value of their brand.  They don’t use Facebook well.  They use it as if it was an advertising channel – a traditional, boring, advertising channel.  They use Facebook to announce their offers, urge consumers to buy from them, and generally interrupt the life of those stupid enough to follow them.

What they don’t do is engage.
So many businesses on Facebook and Twitter don’t engage with customers & potential prospects.  They don’t respond to questions, don’t supply information requested.  So many businesses remain silent while they’re being discussed on Twitter & Facebook.

Every time they fail to respond openly & willingly, they damage their brand – unless of course their brand promises to disappoint customers.

So if you shut your shop on Friday, and don’t open until Monday – think again.  Do your customers want you on Saturdays?  Do your customers have problems on the weekend?

And during the week, do you actively seek to find out who’s chatting about your products?  Do you try to imagine who’s out there with a problem for which you could be a solution?

Stay off the new media – unless you are seriously interested in serving customers.
The impression you give otherwise is dreadful.  If you’re the marketing director, and your Facebook account isn’t great, it reflects badly on your company & your career prospects.

We can track you these days.  We can build a good picture of your track record via your Facebook & Twitter presence.

Get serious about new media – or get underground.

PS : This blogpost was inspired by a Tweet this morning from a business owner who was frustrated at the lack of response they’d experienced from an Irish business.

"Dots Obsession" by Yayoi Kusama at Parc La Villette in Paris

“It used to be price… now it’s all about customer service.”  So said an Irish small business owner to me yesterday.  He was a web developer.  He’s now an entrepreneur – developing a new business venture to sit alongside his established company.  He’s based in Mallow, Co Cork, Ireland.

Customer service – I thought we cracked that in the 1980s.  Tom Peters &  Robert Waterman wrote “In Search of Excellence“, British Airways did “A Day in the Life” – the whole business world seemed to be on to customer care and total quality management.  Even Bill Cullen got into “Penny Apples“.

But what’s happened?  Have we consumers got an good enough deal? Are we in love with our suppliers?  Do you think a corner has been turned & service is now as good as we need it to be.

Of course not.  Customer service is still lousy.  It’s usually a disaster.  Awefully bad.  Most customer service is an insult to customers.  At best it’s OK, it’ll do.  But I’m obsessed with customer service & think most companies are stupid about it.

I could be diplomatic.  I could mince my words.  I could be careful &  play the long game.  But I’ve had enough. Customer service is so generally woeful, it’s time to shout STOP.

All the theories, systems, magic haven’t worked.  All the initiatives designed by consultants have failed to bring lasting change.  It’s as if

“A lesson has to be repeated until it’s learned.”

For example:
a restaurant in Cork city gave me dreadful service – so bad it took back my pizza & gave me another.  It didn’t charge me for the pizza.  It thought it was giving OK customer service by not charging me.  It wasted my time, spoiled my time out with family, I was itching to get home.  What a stupid thing to not charge me!  The situation was such that I’d decided I was never coming back: they needed to give everyone at the table a free meal + at least a voucher for another free meal – in order to get me to come back.  They needed to think big to repair the damage to their custom and reputation.  Instead they got petty – a bloody refund.  An insult.

This is typical of the small-minded thinking most business has about customer service.

If this was sex it would be a damp squib.

What do you think we should do about it?  Do you think I’m over the top?  Are you satisfied with the service you’re getting?

I’ll never forget meeting up with Denis O’Mullane, Lisa Murphy & Jonathan Amm in Cafe Gusto.  It was indeed a meeting of “unlike minds“.

Last Tuesday, I joined them in the Café that Denis built on Washington Street, downtown Cork City. It was my first meeting with Lisa & Denis.  We got together to discuss Cork. I guess we all have vested interests in the future of Cork.

I’d already written my dissatisfaction with the image of this place where I live (and am growing to love). I’m disgruntled you could say.  I’m also committed to changing its reputation, so that I can relax and be proud of the place where my child will grow up.

But alone I’m useless.
A solitary voice bleating away into a vacuum.  Collaborators matter so much that nothing decent will be done by me without the active co-operation of others.  ”Collaborating Cork” – I hope.

The meeting was wonderful: we got on well.  We found an shared interest in the future of Cork and all we had to do was buy into the idea of doing our best to transform Cork.  All four of us are big networkers; we use Twitter and other tools to link people, to build little communities of like interests.  As we chatted about what Cork is like, how difficult many Irish people find collaborating, how lots stay in their silos – a stranger interrupted.  She butted in and told us she we collaborating with at least 40 pubs in Cork.  She was interested in our conversation.  A new link was made.  A ball began to roll in my head.  I began to sense that the notion of re-branding Cork was a mover.

The next thing that happened was on Twitter. #TransformCork began to be used.  You can see a few of the recent tweets here.

I’m going to continue this story here.  I’ll add new material when I have time.  The most important thing is to do this now.  Transform Cork is going to become a movement…  Citizen Branding lives…

This post is the second in an occasional series: The Re-Invention of Cork.

Cork’s Evening Echo organised a pubic meeting in Cork yesterday.  It was the second in a series. The topic was

Life in Cork in 2030 – transitional change required to deliver prosperity

According to the invitation, the speakers were

Dr. Aodh Quinlivan, College of Business and Law, UCC (Ph. D. in Public Administration, Department of Government, University College Cork).  Dr. Quinlivan lectures at UCC, can present academic view of what change is required.

• Bob Savage, Vice President Managing Director EMC Ireland. As an Irish business leader, CEO of Cork Chamber Business of the Year, he understands what is required to deliver prosperity for Cork.

• Joe Gavin, City Manager has been responsible for the development of the city, is in a key position to discuss the debate topic.

• Simon Coveney T.D. Front Bench Fine Gael Spokesperson for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. As our publicly elected representative is well placed to present the views of the political arena.

I tweeted during the meeting.
Afterwards I thought it would be interesting to sort tweets out, so you could read them in order.  What follows are my @omaniblog tweets unedited. There are a few later comments inserted in italics. It’s all a bit messy…
During the meeting tweets came from people who follow me on Twitter: I’ve included their views.

Sitting in a fair crowd gathered to talk about the future of Cork. 5 men in suits on stage. Evening Echo organised this

#omanisnap Panel of Cork heads http://yfrog.com/em7lyj

4 speakers each have 3 minutes each. One hour for questions from audience in Cork

Cork city manager outlines the things that will have happened in Cork by 2030. Lots of change coming: long list

Bob Savage EMC next. Disruptive change is what he expects. He speaks of his company’s commitment to Cork: multinationals matter

EMC ask is for “innovation” & customers from Cork

Political Simon Coveney says what Cork does in next 3 years will determine all: smart, green, excellence his key words

[@Cork_Business Lol. I misquoted Simon Coveney: his third word was "connected"]

Look at Cork as 400,000 people not 130,000 small city: almost merge city & county Coveney speaks in questions

Last speaker the academic from UCC: he reads, public services are his key. 2022 report by IDA influenced his view: he imagines the future

LinkedIn Groups… “you’d be a good person to lead a LinkedIn Group Paul…”

Thus spoke Greg Canty of Fuzion Communications (Cork & Dublin).  It was a free gift, out of the blue.  Greg listened to me voicing some thoughts about my business vision.  He knows a small bit about my approach, but he has lots of experience. We were working together led by Aodan Enright.

I was delighted to get unsolicited advice from a professional Marketing & PR person.  You don’t ignore such generous support.

Problem is: I’m not an experienced LinkedIn user.  It’s the tool I’ve never really explored.  My profile is up on LinkedIn: I even have some contacts.  But that’s it.  I’ve not yet used it properly.

“LinkedIn Groups are where it’s at on LinkedIn.  Go there.”  That’s the call to action.  So this morning I joined two Groups: “Ghostwriters” & “Poets Corner”.  I begin with established interests: I should be comfortable there.  As a member of those groups, I’ll become active and see how I find it.  I’ll learn.  It’ll be a while before I think about setting up & managing  a LinkedIn Group.

Do you use LinkedIn Groups? Any tips for me?  Thanks again Greg Canty Fuzion Communications: you are a #smarteregg.

The world is different.  It’s never been like this.  You can do things you could never do before.  The technology has moved us on.  The people behind the software have transformed our world…

None of this kind of thinking is new. It’s several years since The Cluetrain Manefesto, since we were Google-ised…

This is certainly an era for revolutionary thought.  To prove it I’m going to share a mad idea I’ve had.  I could never have had this idea until recently.

I wish to re-invent Cork. Completely change the way people think of the city. Re-brand the place.  Not only do I wish to change things radically, but I even think I could do it – with a little help from my friends…

In the old day, who would have branded the city: Cork City Council?  Some power would have commissioned a consultancy.  There might even have been a competition for the work.  The contract would have been worth a fortune. There are wonderful consultancies out there, companies that excel at Branding.  They could do it, their way.

I’ve thought: there is another way.  Citizen branding.  A few people who feel really passionate about Cork could link up & have a go at re-inventing the way Cork is thought about.  It would be people who are not satisfied with how Cork seems today. In other words, a coalition of the grumpy who are ambition for Cork.  We wouldn’t even have to agree with each other at this stage. But we would have to engage an awful lot of people in the process.

This is the beginning of an idea in action. While I was cutting the grass yesterday, I had a stream of consciousness.  All about citizen branding – whatever that is.  Haven’t even had time to look up a search engine to see if the term is in use. [Found this]

Who last branded Cork?