Another year has passed and truly the seasons are getting shorter and shorter. Simply said I am getting older and hopefully wiser. Each New Year I take a hard look back and analyze that year’s business plan and create a new one. I realize it is still is a tough economic time we are facing both from a business standpoint and most importantly how it has impacted people on a personal level. Lost jobs, homes and delayed retirements. Fortunately for Strategis we saw a solid double digit growth in revenues coming off a solid 2010. I truly have to attribute two years of growth to our strategic planning and dedicated team.

“Follow the numbers and they will determine tactics to prosperity/” George H. Irish Jr. – My Dad (And I used to think he didn’t know anything.)

A few things to keep in mind when planning for 2012:

1. Create a plan – It sounds obvious, but if I had to guess a good 30% of organizations don’t even have a simple one page plan.
2. Work on the business not in it – Allow yourself time to step back and think. I find we have the mentality that progress is defined in just moving the process.
3. Set goals high – I have always found it easier to achieve a high level of success when I am chasing a goal that might seem to most unachievable. 2012 – 100% growth in revenues.
4. Get granular – Create strategies to attain those goals and constantly measure. I can see at least 4 key areas to grow revenues 100%.
5. Plan your work and work your plan – You just have to be doggedly persistent and understand failure will not be an option.

I hope this helps and please add to my list.

For the full story please see this post on the Dos Equis guy action figure or follow up on Ridiculous Action Figures Part II: Anthony Weiner.

Lots of people loved Steve Jobs for many different reasons: iPhone, Pixar,  the rise in sales of the Black Mock Turtleneck… but a posthumous action figure of the Apple CEO? At just $99.99 you too can enjoy hours of fun imagining adventures with your very own Steve Jobs Doll. Could he hang with a Plastic Mark Zuckerburg? Too bad that Facebook put the squash on that one.

I’m looking forward to Ridiculous Action Figures Part IV – who knew this would be a trend.

1. Instagram Wall Art-  CanvasPop allows you to print your photos onto canvas. If you’re savvy with your iPhone camera and have some great shots, this is an awesome gift idea.
2. +Follow Pillow- Tweet…er…sweet dreams.
3. Social Media Magnets- Magnetic poetry with social media buzzwords? We may have to get some for our refrigerator here at Strategis!
4. Like Coffee Mug- Rather self explanatory for the coffee and Facebook lover. You can be one of 500,000+ people if you actually like coffee on Facebook
5. TweetBookz-  TweetBookz allows anyone to print high quality books composed of tweets from any Twitter account.

And while we’re on the subject of shopping, #CyberMonday sales last year topped $1 billion in the United States. It will be interesting to see how many people participated in Cyber Monday today. Even on Black Friday, online sales were up 24.3%. Did you spend time waiting in line at midnight on Black Friday, or did you wait for your lunch hour today to shop for#CyberMonday? We’d love to hear about your best finds or Black Friday stories.

But back to that social currency thing…did you know that you can leverage your social influence to get free things?

Until recently, I didn’t really care about Klout. I’d read people tweeting about it and I would kind of filter it out. I have had an account for months, but I rarely signed in. Then I heard about @KloutPerks- which are exclusive products or experiences that you earn based on your influence. In the past, influencers have earned perks like laptops and airline tickets. Suddenly, I have been checking my score a lot more often, hoping I can get my hands on some of these perks.

When I found out about the Klout Perk with Chevy, I was instantly jealous of those influencers that redeemed it! A Klout user redeemed a perk to get a free Chevy Volt for a weekend. He tweeted to his followers asking them what he should do with his free car for the weekend- definitely influencing others to talk about the Volt. Check out the Wall Street Journal’s video about this Klout user. What a great move! Brands should definitely take advantage of Klout- people trust their peers and influencers.

What do you think about Klout? What’s your score?

I graduated from Suffolk University this past May with my Bachelors of Science in journalism degree, concentrating in advertising (Say that 5 times fast). I’m extremely lucky to have found my first job not only shortly after I graduated but with such a great company! Everyday I am faced with new challenges and I look forward to learning a lot more in such an exciting industry.

There’s one last thing you should probably know about me. I love sports…Watching them, that is. I spent my college years waitressing at a sports bar connected to Fenway Park called Game On and it is ultimately what got me to where I am today. I met some truly fabulous people and had the time of my life. You might be asking yourself, “Why is she telling us this?” The answer: My first official blog entry is based on the wonderful sport of baseball.

As some of you may know, tonight is the 2011 Home Run Derby on EPSN. What is already considered an exciting event for baseball fans across the globe just got more thrilling thanks to social media. This year, players like David Ortiz and Justin Upton among others, will be interacting with fans via twitter and Facebook during the competition. This will definitely be awesome if there happens to be a brawl like last week between Big Papi and whoever’s pitching because let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to hear a little bit of trash-talking between the players?! It’ll also be interesting to see what fans ask and the responses they receive on top of pictures and live videos from the Derby.

It’s amazing that something like this is even possible today and I think MLB will get a lot of positive feedback as a result. Of course, part of me secretly hope it turns into too much of a distraction for everyone except for Ortiz so he can win but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

For the first time in a long time we didn’t go away for a family April vacation. Truth be told I missed the long drive from Boston to Miami. Maybe next year or this summer.

1. Persistence: Boy oh boy were my kids relentless when they wanted to have an evening party. They were not harassing, but made sure they followed up with me until I gave them an answer. The right answer, yes. They pleaded their cases very well both individually and collectively. Some reason and a little what is in it for Dad was the tactic of the day. Needles to say they had their party and I had a few non-complaining helpers in the yard. Without perseverance you will not go far in life.
2. Patience: Both Josh and Nicole waited patiently at home for Dolores or I to get home from work and take them on a little field trip. No phone calls asking when we will be home. No text messages or emails also. Over the years they have learned a lot of patience adds up to a lot of guilt. I love going to the Aquarium, but it seems we are there every week. Patience is also a form of action – Auguste Rodin
3. Have Fun: Even though my kids have been to the Aquarium at least 30 times over the last 5 years they always seem to enjoy seeing the same exhibits especially the penguins. For them it is less about where we go, but with whom. They will have a great time anyplace and anytime. For me the enjoyment is seeing that they are just happy to be together as a family. My good friend Paul Berenson mentioned to me if you can’t expect to get at least two out of these three things you don’t need the account. The ability to do great work, to make money and to have fun.
4. Do your homework: Come to find out they had been planning this party for at least 5 days. I stumbled across the invitation on Facebook after the fact. Nicole put the strategy together while Josh handled the sales. They spent a considerable time planning and strategizing what my hot button would be. Best of all they negotiated very well. The more I am prepared the more confident I am and the better I will ultimately do.
5. Make nice with the Teacher: Once all the fun and games were done I expected them to attend to their studies, which they did pretty much unaided. All papers were completed and they surpassed their reading assignments. A funny thing, I heard them both taking about how to get good grades. Their key was to be nice to the Teacher and actually engage them in conversation; look at my little networkers. Networking is one of my most valuable skills I posses and without it everything I attempt to do would be very difficult if not impossible.

It is always great to have a reminder of the little things that add up to success.

Just recently Google had to look hard and fast at their search algorithm. Not because some inventive college student cracked it or even a marketing wizard found a work around. It was a small e-tailer that took a page out of the Lindsay Lohan book of promotion. It doesn’t matter what they are saying about you as long as they are saying something, especially if it is negative. Come to find out the holy grail of the top organic listings weren’t all that pristine. Inventive, genius or just carrying their horrendous customer service skills online? I tend to think the later and they stumbled on to it. What are your thoughts?

Here is the NY Times article http://tinyurl.com/2wrogmo and I will never look at those top ranked sites the same way again.

One last point Google isn’t in the habit of being directed to change anything even if the Government requests.

Now go play whilst I prepare a better blog post.

The ‘Shit My Dad Says ‘ account owner, Justin Halpern, started the Twitter account, which features lewd, hysterical comments and one liners said by his dad, after a bad breakup drove the then twenty-something to move back in to his dad’s house. CNN offers the run down and a few clips here (side note: Anyone who wants to comment on Phil Han’s horrible delivery can tweet me @pmaloney – my favorite line was that this was a “Reminder to us all that we never know who might be reading our Twitter page. So make sure it’s pretty good if you want a shot at your own show.”)

There are a ton of things I could bring up about this show:

1. How it makes me sad that they will have to verbalize the first word in the shows title as “Bleep”

2. That the Parents Television Council is condemning the show for curing in the title.

3. The historical significance of the first television show based upon a twitter account.

4. The fact that the only account that @ShitMyDadSays is following is that of LeVar Burton @levarburton

I felt that this show, pass or fail, is significant in enough ways that it’s mention on this blog was justified.

The premise itself is funny – and familiar. Last year I had to make the hard decision to move my family into my father’s house. I was not familiar with Halpern’s twitter account, but was very familiar with the hysterical ramblings of a loud, cantankerous older man – my dad.

Leading up to the move, I thought often about starting up a blog of the crazy things my dad would shout out – usually at the television – and sharing it with friends and family who knew him. I thought at the time, I’d keep it a secret from him – because I wouldn’t want to compromise the integrity of his ramblings.

To Mr. Halpern’s credit –  this is the stuff that makes social media so great. A real life version of what reality television strives for, honest entertainment.

For year’s he’d probably told and retold crazy musings from his dad. His friends that had bravely engaged the man in conversation probably told and retold, and are probably kicking themselves that they didn’t come up with the ShitJustinsDadSays Twitter account first.

Sadly, I did not start the ‘Quoting Mr. Davis blog’, and my dad passed away earlier this year. He would have thought the idea for this show was fantastic, though probably not as fantastic  as Jan Michael Vincent or Mega-Shark Vs. Giant Octopus.  (c’mon, the cgi megashark jumps out of the water and eats a cgi 747!)

by Pam Maloney

I must thank Twitter and the Huffington Post for its haste in spreading the word. Where did you first see it?