Merry Christmas - an invitation

Now that December is upon us, so is the Christmas season; my favorite time of the year. People seem to want to treat one another better and there is a lift in people's spirits. Those who called my house were welcomed by my Mom saying "Merry Christmas" as she answered the phone.
I believe in inviting people to share my holiday with me so I say Merry Christmas. Just like inviting you to share my table, I invite you to my home to enjoy a great meal.
"Merry Christmas" is not to offend; it is a friendly invitation.
Cheers,
Toby

11 Years Ago

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard?
If you were a parent, how tightly did you hug your child(ren) that night?
How did you feel?
Do you still remember?

I remember as clear as yesterday:
A co-worker's husband called her and reported the first crash. The internet, streaming video, servers were nothing like they are now and there was not the access to information. I was calling friends in NYC, but no one's cell would work - for days.
Everyone walked around in a fog wondering what would/could happen next. The nights seemed so dark.
As a father, I was so angry about the suddenly orphaned children and tried to imagine what the fathers on flight 93 were thinking.
I will NEVER forget.

Remembering,
Toby

Sports, Sportsmanship, and the Scoreboad

I am gearing up for a new hockey season.  While getting together rosters, putting together drills, and thinking about tournaments I started thinking about the big picture.
The scoreboard shows "Home" and "Guest" not the names of who scored the goal and who made the assist. The scoreboard reflects the performance of the team, not the achievements of its individual members.
The score sheet does not tell the entire story either. It shows who scored, who assisted, and the saves made by the goalie - so much is missing.
When watching your next game look for these things: the back check, clearing the puck out of the defensive zone, the hug or highfive of encouragement, the hustle of the weaker player who never gives up.
Herb Brooks said it best: "When you pull on that jersey, you remember one thing, the name on the front it a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back."

Thank you parents for all the support; it means the world to the coaches as well as your sons and daughters.

Please share this with other coaches and those who love the game.

Cheers,

Toby

Twitter My Way

If you believe twitter is for telling others you are “sitting on the patio,” get ready to learn something. These are 4 ways I use my 140 characters.

Learn
We all love to consume information and the internet provides a most awesome buffet. By following authors, columnists, bloggers, public figures, etc – the content comes to you and is always updating in real time. In short, twitter can be your personal library or newsstand. All this data is difficult to manage: utilize hashtags and lists to search and sort information quickly. Dashboards like Hootsuite and TweetDeck allow you to digest the data by sorting it into multiple columns. Your dashboard gives you a snapshot of data: who is talking about you, who is talking about your company, what are the latest news stories, etc – all continuously and immediately updated.  

Share
It is as easy to share data as it is to consume it via twitter; don’t keep all the good stuff to yourself. If you read a tweet you find interesting, retweet so your followers can enjoy it too. Maybe you visit a website or wish to share your latest blog, take the URL and tweet it. Tools like bitly shorten that URL so it can fit within the 140 character limit and help you track the activity on your link. Seesmic’s dashboard will shorten the link for you.  

Engage
This is the best part of Social – engagement. The days of pushing information without conversation are gone. Twitter gives your customers an in-road to you, don’t be afraid of it: listen to what they say and respond. A TweetChat allows you to engage and listen to many people at once while documenting the conversations. Idea-share, focus groups, and feedback sessions: it’s all about conversation. This blog by one of my Social mentors, Janet Fouts, shows you how to set up your own TweetChat.  

Promote
Sharing information or engaging others promotes yourself and your organization. People can see who shares what and the twitterverse responds favorably to those they like; if your followers find your content interesting, they may also research what company employs such an interesting person.

I hope you were able to take away something new – I look forward to your comments & feedback. Cheers Toby

Fun with foursquare

Geolocation is an interesting thing: for some it is about communication and sharing; for others, fear of being tracked or monitored. No matter your view of Geo, foursquare is a great app that can help you have fun anywhere. Scavenger hunt anyone?
Use your current city or town, college campus, vacation or day trip spot as a playground. Set up teams, choose check-in possibilities, and go. Capture each location with a picture and share with the other teams via twitter.
Give yourself a new perspective of familiar surroundings or sightsee in a whole new way.
Cheers,
Toby

For more foursquare ideas, join the #4SqCHAT on twitter

10 Years, Hard Memories

It will be 10 years tomorrow.
If you are blessed with a child or children, hug them tomorrow at breakfast; hard and deeply. There were many that day who we not hugged.
Remember how you felt.
Remember how you wanted to put America first and do anything you could to help your neighbor or a stranger who needed you.
Remember.

Are you getting the most out of Social?

How is your property engaging with current guests, marketing to new ones, and getting those who love you to share their experiences? There are certainly excellent marketing opportunities available via social media.
1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Foursquare
Facebook
Not only can you talk about your property, but guests can join your page to share their stories and photos - think of this as an on-line version of your resort. Who is more believable than your satisfied guests?
Twitter
The reach of Twitter is vast and it is a quick way to communicate information as well as an in-road for guests. As guests check-in, they could be reminded to "Follow" your resort on Twitter to receive updates on daily activities as well as the concierge's tip(s) of the day. Twitter will also allow guests to talk about their experience(s) in real time - are they happy with their room, service, meal, accommodations, etc? Once they leave, the problem cannot be corrected.
Foursquare
Foursquare is based around locations, there could be a virtual scavenger hunt where guests (or their smartphone-toting children) can earn points by visiting places around the resort as well sites that surround your property. An example could be a prize for the guest who visits the most lighthouses during a week. Foursquare also shares information with Facebook and Twitter – as guests "Check-in" to your events or locations, they can share these experiences with other users (nothing like free advertising).
The biggest investments are planning your strategy and setting up your Facebook page - the beauty is once things are up and running, the guests do the rest. Get creative and have fun with Social.
Cheers,
Toby