Some shared the news unknowingly, like an IT consultant:

@sohath ReallyVirtual

 Helicopter hovering above Abottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).

Other tweeters were in the know, such as Donald Rumsfeld’s former Chief of Staff:

@keithurbahn

So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn.

Intentional or not, these tweets show the power of this social media platform.

Amidst the bin Laden events, the Flint Group Writers were spending a month focused on Twitter, specifically looking to intricately understand the medium and harness its power for our clients and their goals. We found ways to share and enhance our personal and professional interests, from Macs to fringe music to games-in-progress sports action. We see Twitter as a good place to interact with other marketing communications professionals, including media outlets. We understand how Twitter can allow organizations to provide more attentive customer service. Several writers now turn to Twitter first for news, from local happenings in rural areas to major international developments that may affect our clients. Many writers now follow and interact with professionals who will boost Flint’s service to clients. A few are just looking to vent about their favorite sports teams. And all of us are on the prowl for opportunities in and around Twitter that will benefit our clients.

Do you tweet? Personally and/or professionally? What are your Twitter experiences? We always like to from you.

Red River Valley Research Corridor

(FARGO, ND) With unmanned aircraft systems, or remotely piloted aircraft, increasingly being viewed as a major component in the next generation of aerial war-fighting and commerce alike, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Action Summit “UAS 2020 – Looking to the Future” presented by honorary co-hosts U.S. Senators Kent Conrad and John Hoeven in collaboration with the Red River Valley Research Corridor, will look at initiatives and programs that directly relate to the emergence of UAS in addressing issues and concerns on a national and international level.

Kicked off by AUVSI Executive Director Michael Toscano, the Summit will provide key insight by industry giants including Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, and General Electric, the Summit will provide stakeholders and industry partners alike with high level information about emerging trends in mitigation efforts, sensor use and applications, maintenance issues and initiatives related to UAS access to the National Airspace and overviews of current platforms and projects that impact the ability of UAS to make an impact in our everyday lives.

Military and Homeland Security program overviews will be presented by Col. James Gear, the Director of USAF RPA Task Force and Maj. Gregory Fortier, leading the US Army Aviation Flight Test Directorate, and the Department of Homeland Security. Insight to the recent FAA Reauthorization – and information about the (potential) development of test sites for accessing the national airspace will presented by FAA regulatory and air traffic experts Richard Prosek and Dean Fulmer (invited).

“This summit will highlight the extraordinary initiatives being pursued by individual companies, university research centers, local government, and the federal government to advance the unmanned systems industry. There is a lot going in North Dakota and Minnesota which has positioned the region to become a hub of UAS activity.” said Delore Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Red River Valley Research Corridor.

Registration and more information regarding the event can be found on the Web by visiting www.theresearchcorridor.com/

The Red River Valley Research Corridor Coordinating Center
is run by Praxis Strategy Group – a Flint Group sister company www.praxissg.com

CTO is the world’s largest cleantech business competition and entrepreneur incubator created to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas.  It offers entrepreneurs MBA quality training, CEO mentors, seminars and clinics, investors pitch and feedback, and more. CTO has:

• Helped to raise $300 M for 100 firms since 2006
• All 4 North Central CTO Finalists in 2010 have received funding
• CTO funding amounts range from $100,000 to $30 Million
• 80% of participants remain economically viable today
• More than 2,000 new clean technology jobs have been created.

Focus areas:

• Renewable Energy
• Energy Efficiency
• Green Building
• Air, Water & Waste
• Transportation
• Smart Power

Visit:www.cleantechopen.com

Calling All Entrepreneurs – Innovators – Economic Catalysts to a

Cleantech Open Briefing
April 21, Grand Forks, ND

Cleantech Open in the North Central Region is in search of entrepreneur applicants for this year’s competition, company mentors, judges, and partners.   Attend our briefing luncheon in Grand Forks on April 21 to find out more about CTO and how to participate.

The North Central Region Cleantech Open Competition in conjunction with the Red River Valley Research Corridor, Innovate ND, NDSU Research & Technology Park, Marketplace of Ideas & the UND Center for Innovation.

- APPLY, NETWORK & CREATE NEW COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS -

Praxis Africa
Praxis Africa is an agricultural enterprise development & rural community development enterprise headquartered in Accra, Ghana. Praxis Africa works with leaders and entrepreneurs in business, communities and government to develop and implement action-oriented development initiatives and business ventures.

Our approach focuses on understanding the assets and strengths of a business or community – then helping to build the relationships and networks necessary to get things done.

• Working with farmers to identify and reach markets for their products.
• Working with traditional leaders and government agencies to achieve local sustainable development.
• Working to source equipment, machinery, expertise and capital to improve productivity and profitability.
• Working with farmers and agri-business to tell their story.

Praxis Africa is allied with Praxis Strategy Group and AdFarm in the United States and Canada. The two companies share ownership and have a long relationship of working together on agricultural and rural-focused development and strategic planning initiatives.

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner with the Flint Group

Bill introducing Josh and Libby at the 2010 HatlingFlint KNOW event.

As big of a deal as it has become, social media remains a mystery to so many of us. We pretend to know what we’re doing when we post a status update, a link to a favorite blog, and press “like” once in a while on Facebook. But, navigating Facebook is just the tip of a giant iceberg.

Do you know how many characters are in a Tweet? How many friends does the average Facebook user have? What percentage of companies use LinkedIn as a recruitment tool? Every minute, how many hours of video are uploaded to YouTube?

Some of the answers are shocking, others are just no brainers. Attendees of our KNOW event on Thursday, Oct. 7 at Territory Golf Club got these questions answered and so much more. Our topic again this year focused on social media: blogging strategy and the importance of Facebook. Our presenters Libby Hall, New Media Strategist, and Josh Lysne, Digital Strategist, both with the Flint Group did an awesome job.

Two hours flew by with some pretty frantic note-takers burning a hole through their notebooks. We failed to remind them that a copy of the slides would be available. Ooops! We remembered and reminded everyone that the slides will be available for download.

Many of our attendees expressed interest in a “How to create a LinkedIn strategy” seminar. We’ll be posting information on this event as we make plans. Don’t forget to check back.

By the way, there’s 140 characters in a Tweet. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. 80% of companies use LinkedIn as a recruitment tool. And, 24 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.

Josh speaking to those eagerly awaiting golden nuggets of information.

Libby explains how Facebook and contests can lure someone in...we got you with our contest, didn't we?!

Simon Sinek has developed an inspirational leadership philosophy called the “Golden Circle.” The video below is from a conference he spoke at in 2009 where he explains the Golden Circle in depth. The basic premise is that in today’s world, people tend to come at problems or develop products with a tactical approach, or just telling us “what” they are selling. Simon shows us some relevant examples from throughout history, from The Wright Brothers to TiVo. I highly encourage you to watch the 18-minute video and then think about the why in everything that you are involved in.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the video.

I’d like to lie and tell you that this is the first time I haven’t been able to think up something great to write, and that I’m some kind of playboy millionaire jetting off to Spain this weekend, but it would be all lies. Since the best advertising is grounded in the truth, I’ll readily admit that I’m engaged in three completely different cases of writer’s block as we speak. Fortunately, this has become such a regular occurrence that I’ve developed some confidence in working around it—emphasis on the “work” part because getting to any great idea takes time.

When I’m stuck, I tend to go into Jack Kerouac writing mode where I type and type nonstop until I get somewhere I like. Other people I know get out of their funk by hanging all their work up on a corkboard, then coming back to it a couple of hours later with a fresh perspective. While I wish I could give you the definitive answer as to what to do when you’re stuck, the reality is what works for one person may not work for somebody else.

In the end, coming up with an idea is a lot like a giant game of hide and seek. There are infinite ideas out there somewhere. You’ve just got to keep pushing yourself to find them. Sometimes they’re right in front of your face. Sometimes they’re camouflaged and hiding right in front of your face.  The key when you get frustrated in looking for one is to not get frustrated. If you put in the time, you’ll find dozens of ideas, and one of them is bound to be good.

We are constantly inundated with advertising that annoys us, as it is obviously trying to separate us from our wallets. You don’t have to be on Times Square or the Vegas Strip to be suffocated by it. Radio ads seem to turn up the volume on their own. The surprise flyer on your windshield stops your heart for a second because you think it may be a parking ticket. Credit card offers appear like they are actually important. SPAM mail. Door-to-door sales. It comes at us from every direction.

However, why is it that people watch the Super Bowl in anticipation of the TV spots? Even water cooler talk sometimes starts with, “Did you see the ad about the …”

When advertising entertains and feels relevant, it piques our attention. Good advertising flows with our daily lives to the point we don’t realize we are being sold to. It almost feels natural.

Now that I have made my point, perhaps it is appropriate to change the title of this posting. Because, the truth is this: PEOPLE HATE BAD ADVERTISING.

I work with clients to create communication plans and digital strategies that usually include some form of social media. I often get an objection when the social elements of the program are introduced. Something along the line of “we tried a blog but it wasn’t a success” or “we have a Facebook page, but it isn’t doing anything for our business.”

Who’s Doing What?

Digging deeper into the failure, many times it is because the business did not understand who is doing what. The blog was a failure because posts were not written on a regular basis. The Facebook page was a failure because they were not engaging their audience, they were just collecting names. As my colleague Jay Baer preaches, social media is not about collecting names, it is about activating your fans. That can only happen if you know who is doing what.

It can get complex depending on the size of your social media program, but here are some tips to help make sure you’re managing social operations appropriately:

• If you are blogging, create an editorial calendar. You don’t need to know the what, just the who and when.
• Again with the blogging, make sure your blogger or bloggers want to do it, if they are forced into it, you won’t get your posts on time.
• If you have a Twitter account, set up a CoTweet account to help manage interactions, and define who is responsible for interaction.
• If someone asks a question in a social space, make sure you have an expert on hand that can answer the question if it gets too technical for the day-to-day social listener.
• If you are being badgered by someone that continues to post off-topic or negative comments in your space, what is the plan to engage them, and who is going to do it?
• If you have a Facebook page, know who is responsible for engagement. Who is responsible for adding content? Photos? Videos? It might be different people for each task.
• Who is monitoring social spaces where you don’t currently have outpost? There are tons of free and paid tools out there that help you to monitor the conversations taking place.

Take a look at the Social Media Responsibilities Worksheet we use at the Flint Group. Hopefully it will help you figure out who is doing what.

Social Media Responsibilities Worksheet