whitneymathews.comBloghttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2010-02-28T04:58:05ZSquarespaceWho says social media doesn't pay?http://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2010/2/27/who-says-social-media-doesnt-pay.htmlWhitney Mathews2010-02-28T04:28:38Z2010-02-28T04:28:38ZThis month INK magazine wrote an article about social media in which I was featured. My mom went all "mom" and sent a copy to my Grandma Delores in Minneapolis. This week I received a greeting card in the snail mail with the following message. It works better if you read it aloud with a Fargo accent:

Your Mother sent me the article about you - with a picture of you in it - great picture! Your new job sounds terrific. I don't quite understand it all. I am definitely old fashioned and un-hip. Congrats to my modern Granddaughter!

Love, Grandma

In addition to the adorable note, the envelope contained a $20 bill.

Who says you can't determine ROI for social media? I just made $20 in cold, hard cash. That's nearly a tank of gas for the Prius OR 19 items on the $1 menu (gotta factor in tax). Booya! Thanks, Grandma!

(P.S. I did the math and - considering I've been a full-time social media professional for the past year and a half - that equates to $0.006/hour. Payday, b**ches.)

]]>The #KSGoRed experimenthttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2010/2/6/the-ksgored-experiment.htmlWhitney Mathews2010-02-06T15:06:48Z2010-02-06T15:06:48Z@farmeditor wears red for a family member. To see all of our user-submitted photos, hit facebook.com/ljworldOver the past five months at the Lawrence Journal-World, it's become quite clear that social media is allowing us to communicate with the Lawrence/Douglas County community in a fresh way.

Previously, we might post a story or blog about National Wear Red Day and talk about heart health until people's eyes glaze over and they reach for the Girl Scout Cookies.

We could personalize a story by getting a quote or focusing on a few survivors, but how much of an impact does that have anymore? You're lucky if the online audience reads past the first two sentences (that being said, thanks for making it this far!)

Sooooo... we decided to let the community do the storytelling for Wear Red Day via our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Health reporter Karrey Britt posted nuts and bolts info on her blog, and I posted the #KSGoRed Photo Contest info on the social media blog. We pre-scheduled some tweets and Facebook status updates using HootSuite to remind people to use the hashtag. Then let our fans and followers post photos telling us why they wore red.

To be clear, the AHA and Wear Red people were not paid advertisers for this project. That's why we didn't use their logo anywhere. However, heart health awareness is news, as it affects such a large percentage of the population, so we felt obligated to cover the campaign. That doesn't mean in the future we couldn't blow it up big with some kind of financially based partnership... because we are NOT a non-profit.

Our efforts generated 27 user-submitted photos and captions. Not bad for a first try - especially in a smaller Kansas community. After people posted photos, we saw a noticeable increase in interactions (likes, comments and wall posts). Because Facebook's Insights feature is lame-ass, we won't see the exact numbers for a week... unless we make our intern count them up.

Social media's growth and the increasing distrust of journalism has forced community participation. I love it. It's making the news interesting and creative again.

Look for this kind of social media storytelling to be a frequent feature from LJW in the very near future.

 

]]>Why my mom needs an iPadhttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2010/1/27/why-my-mom-needs-an-ipad.htmlWhitney Mathews2010-01-28T03:17:20Z2010-01-28T03:17:20ZMenopause jokes aside, Chris Mathews is the perfect target customer for the iPad.

Why?

She's a media consumer, not a media creator. Mom rarely needs to edit, upload or generate any kind of content. She just wants to read stuff, check emails, torture her children on Facebook and keep in touch with the bunko ladies.

Unlike Jake or me (two people who are heavily involved in multimedia creation), Mom can probably find anything she needs from technology in the app store.

Geeks might see this product as a disappointment (I'm a little disappointed that iPad will not change my life... yet), but this product reaches a brand new market for Apple. It's for people who don't need all the bells and whistles of iLife or iWork, but need something more than an iPhone or iPod Touch.

The touch screen, size and price make it a good option for the Chris Mathews of the world. It's visual and on an OS that's easy to learn. Translation: Whitney Children will not have to be on-call for tech support.

Take this as a not-so-subtle hint, Mom.

]]>On death and griefhttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2010/1/23/on-death-and-grief.htmlWhitney Mathews2010-01-23T18:56:17Z2010-01-23T18:56:17ZI've been to plenty of funerals. Some of them have been pretty tragic and I've been heartbroken for the people I love, but I've never really been emotionally devastated by someone's death. I'm fortunate in that respect.

This week two people I know died within two days of each other. One death was a semi-surprise, and I wasn't as close to that particular person as I am to other members of their family. That doesn't mean it isn't a horrible situation - just that I don't feel the intense loss associated with mourning a loved one.

The other death was totally unexpected, and has been harder for me to process. Jeff counseled my family and me through everything from my parents' divorce to personal obstacles I faced through middle school, high school and college. He taught me how to maintain emotional strength and helped shape the way I approach challenges and make life choices.

I like to think you can read blogs from the great beyond, so Jeff - thank you. I may have been pretty lost without your honesty, dedication, guidance and support.

Grief - though mild for me in this situation - feels like my heart is too full and too empty all at once. It's extremely complex and confusing. I hope it passes soon, but I know I have to let it run its course. Luckily I have fantastic support system in my family and friends (a life necessity that Jeff taught me about).

If you have a few bucks to spare, please consider donating to the Batten Disease Support & Research Association or the National CASA Association. These organizations were important to Maddie and Jeff.

]]>$5 if you pick up on all the detailshttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2010/1/7/5-if-you-pick-up-on-all-the-details.htmlWhitney Mathews2010-01-07T18:43:21Z2010-01-07T18:43:21ZIt's entirely possible that my life will be complete once I understand what lies in the shadow of the statue.

Obama better not ruin everything.

]]>Grandma's 80th Birthdayhttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2010/1/1/grandmas-80th-birthday.htmlWhitney Mathews2010-01-01T19:04:21Z2010-01-01T19:04:21ZMy Grandma Delores turned 80 on Christmas Eve. Mom organized this giant surprise party for Grandma last Sunday in Minneapolis and asked me to make a video slideshow for the event. I wish I would've had a month or two to work on it, but I only had a couple weeks. I used some of her favorite songs and somehow Mom managed to find photos that included every sibling, child and grandchild.

 

]]>2009 Wrap-Uphttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2009/12/28/2009-wrap-up.htmlWhitney Mathews2009-12-29T02:05:27Z2009-12-29T02:05:27ZIt's that time of year when everyone blogs about the year. I'm really busy catching up on Dexter episodes and doing a mammoth-sized photo project for my mother, so I'll sum it up my personal experiences in 2009 with some bullet points. In no particular order:

The biggest lesson I learned this year is: If something isn't going right, get off your butt and change it. I did that a lot in 2009, and I can say that as I head into 2010... I'm one happy woman.

Now back to Dexter...

 

 

]]>The Free State Socialhttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2009/12/21/the-free-state-social.htmlWhitney Mathews2009-12-21T17:47:50Z2009-12-21T17:47:50ZI get to be part of a lot of neat stuff at work, but this project is going to be really special. 

Today, tickets for the Free State Social went on sale! The World Company is backing social media so much, they're allowing Ben and I to throw a social media conference on April 29-30, 2010.

We've confirmed Chris Brogan, Jeremiah Owyang, Sarah Evans, Shawna Coronado and Ellyn Angelotti to be our speakers, and we're going to have an exhibit hall that features local technology innovations and social media groups. 

The plan is to touch on everything from customer service and personal branding to news organizations and blogging. 

Last week The Oread staff (which is still under construction and opens on Jan. 8, 2010) let me take a tour of the unfinished venue (video below). It's going to be a fantastic space for what we're going for. It's like a giant castle with Jimmy Johns in the basement.

I will admit this is my first time organizing an event of this scale. It's like planning a 36-hour wedding for 350 people. The details are insane (power strips, bandwidth, projectors, tables, badges, printing, etc.) But I'm learning as I go and adjusting accordingly.

The biggest complaint we've heard is that tickets are too expensive. Believe me, I wish we could let everyone in for free. The talent ain't cheap (especially our lineup) and neither is the locale, but after attending a some similar events in the past few years, I know that the ticket prices we set are much lower others. This year will tell us a lot about what we need to adjust for the following years. 

So... keep an eye on the Free State Social Web site. I'll be making updates about the event there. Hope everyone has a great holiday!

]]>World Cup Drawshttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2009/12/9/world-cup-draws.htmlWhitney Mathews2009-12-09T16:16:37Z2009-12-09T16:16:37ZThe 2010 World Cup draws were last Friday, and the U.S. made out pretty well!

I really wish that I had been able to go party with other Kansas City fans at 810 Zone... but it was at 11 a.m. and I had to get my work on. :(

Pretty cool video from the Wizards highlighting the party, though!

]]>Top 10 reasons to go to the Ugly Christmas Sweater Partyhttp://www.whitneymathews.com/blog/2009/12/1/top-10-reasons-to-go-to-the-ugly-christmas-sweater-party.htmlWhitney Mathews2009-12-01T15:49:53Z2009-12-01T15:49:53ZCan you believe the 5th Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party is next week?

Last year's event was freaking epic. Not only did we raise over $7,000 for Operation Breakthrough, but I'm 100% certain everyone had a blast (Except the mystery person who vommed on one of our Christmas tree decorations. Ish.)

The ticket price is $50 (buy them online). We recognize this time of year and with our economy being down, that may be a big expense. However, we've added a bunch of perks to this year's party that make it totally affordable.

So instead of spending the $50 you normally spend at P&L, Plaza or Brookside bars... here are the top 10 reasons you should come to the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.

10. OPEN BAR - This year you get FREE beer and wells all night long. Not only that, Tito's Vodka is offering premium drinks for $1 and sponsoring beverages all night for VIP ticket holders. This means your chances of seeing my mom drunk again increase by 500% (stop denying it, Mom. Embrace it!)

9. TWO BANDS - Dolewite is going to rock the main stage with your favorite hip hop from the 80s, 90s and 00s... but we've added The B'Dinas to the VIP pre-party. Check out their stuff here.

8. VITAMIN WATER - One of our raffle prizes is a year's supply of Vitamin Water. This gives you the chance to talk like Bear Grylls all night by saying vih-ta-mins and glah-see-her. Example: Tito's Vodka contains a lot of vih-ta-mins.

7. ICE LUGE + ICE SCULPTURE - We have our OWN glah-see-hers! And this year I promise the ice luge will be more sanitary. Swine Flu is not included.

6. RUN DMC - Remember last year when the guy dressed as Santa got sh*t-wrecked and sang Christmas in Hollis with Dolewite? Me neither. But isn't that the point?

5. EVERYONE LOOKS STUPID - If you're too embarrassed to go out in public wearing a wonky sweater, don't fret. Someone will look more foolish than you. Promise.

4. BAGS FLY FREE - Southwest Airlines has donated SIX tickets to our raffle/silent auction. Just when you wanted to escape the manic weather of Kansas City... here's your chance.

3. EXPENSIVE DECORATIONS - Fake snow. Plastic Christmas trees. Red and green lights. Elves. This kind of ambiance will get your a** in the holiday spirit in no time.

2. HONOR THE 80s - Among the awesome concert tickets we've scored for the auction, we have two Founders Club tickets to see Bon Jovi at the Sprint Center. If you lose the auction, my brother and I will gladly perform Wanted Dead or Alive on Rock Band for you.

1. HELP YOUR COMMUNITY - All of the money raised by this fundraiser stays in Kansas City to help local families. Operation Breakthrough is one of the best organizations I've dealt with, and I'm extremely excited to be helping a fantastic group of people improve our community.

]]>