Reach through social networking and social media

A volunteer trustee recently brought up at a Chamber Board of Trustees meeting that the Chamber has become a media company.

By that, she meant that with all of the Internet social networking, sponsorship and marketing opportunities available to the members, our chamber now has, as known in the marketing world, REACH.

We use that REACH to promote the community, advocate for our members, pump up our networking activities, and contribute to the local economy.

Our Chamber and the President/CEO has 2250 followers on Twitter, 1400 folks on the eBiz email blast list, hundreds of friends on Chamber’s Facebook fan page, a Youtube channel, an active blog, hundreds of members using “Myno”, and more….

We have REACH. Another way to think about it is to call it VISIBILITY in the community. By being a member, you immediately have access to this VISIBILITY from your media company.

A Shop Local Challenge

Would you please do all of us a favor? Shop Local first. Browse through local merchants and you will find everything you need for the Holidays. The money will recycle throughout the community, supporting the jobs and services we depend upon. Plus, it builds the local economy which completes the circle. Will you committ yourself to this?

Internet social networking for organizations

Frank Kenny, President/CEO

Taking a leadership role in championing Internet social networking for organizations.

Keynoting, teaching classes and workshops.




Frank Kenny at a presentation - fun and informative.

Our organization had a 100% increase in membership in 18 months


Why such great results?


WE INTRODUCED INTERNET SOCIAL NETWORKING
TO OUR MEMBERS

You can too! We will help.

Classes and training presented at a fun, informative, and quick pace.

Following up on my presentations to the Washington State Chamber of Commerce Executives (WCCE) at the technology summit in June and the annual WCCE conference in October, I have scheduled a series of training sessions for organizations that want to take the next step in Internet social networking.

The schedule is being filled. Get up to speed quickly on these important new tools. Your Board and your members will thank you.

Frank Kenny is the President/CEO of the North Mason Chamber of Commerce. His chamber is among the leaders in the nation in utilizing Internet Social Networking (ISN). He has a presence of more than a dozen social networking sites and is at the 99.5% Twitter ranking according to Twitter.Grader.com. He has taught at the WCCE technology conference and annual conference and is scheduled to teach Internet social networking at the Western Association Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.) National Conference in 2010.

Workshops


Contact frank@northmasonchamber.com
or call 360-275-4267 to claim your place in the training schedule:

• Executive Director Internet Social Networking Workshop - I will share with the exec and staff what our organization has tried that has worked and what has failed to work. I have spent many hundreds of hours testing and using various ISN sites with a focus on usability and Return on Investment for chambers of commerce and members. Learn from our success. Your board, tech committee, and members are invited to participate. - 2 hours
  

$750 value
only $500 (plus travel expenses if applicable)

• Member Internet Social Networking Workshop - Two hours of hands on member training on Twitter, LinkedIn, FaceBook, and others....All focused on return on investment and business. Your organization doesn't need to be 100% up to speed for you to facilitate this training. You will be offering real value that your members are looking for! - 2 hours
  

$750 value
only $500 (plus travel expenses if applicable)
i.e. - 20 members at $25/each

• Complete Internet Social Networking Workshop - Up to 2 hours with the executive and staff with the remainder of time in workshop with your members. Get you and your organization up to speed quickly and gain all the benefits of being a leading chamber. This will jump start your involvement in ISN while saving you countless hours of frustration and learning from mistakes. - 4 hours
  

$1000 value
only $750 (plus travel expenses if applicable)
i.e. - 30 members at $25/each

• Regional Internet Social Networking Conference - Are you a leading organization? Are you capable of organizing a regional ISN conference that would brand you and your group as visionary and effective? Can you bring together your surrounding groups and take on the role as the lead organizer? This is your chance to lead! Conferences such as these are selling out nationwide. We will help you to organize the event including multiple professional speakers and trainers. Lead your community into the next big thing.

Fee dependent on number of attendees

• Other - What do you have in mind. Frank is available for ISN training or speaking on various topics. Let's talk about your ideas.

Visit MyNorthMasonChamber.com for our members-only networking site
and visit Twitter/frankkenny for Frank's Twitter timeline.

"Frank Kenny is a real 21st century communication trend setter. He gave a superb seminar this afternoon at the Chamber. If you have a chance to attend one of his presentations you really must."

Professor John Angus Campbell
Member - North Mason Chamber

Chamber of Commerce Member Marketing Packages that Include Social Media

I have been really working the social media angle for my Chamber. I have recently created a package of marketing opportunities that includes Internet social networking and geo-targeting. I can't role it out yet publicly but I think it might be a big deal for associations.

Stay tuned.

The videos I have been shooting have also been a big hit. Here is one I posted recently. That is representative Fred Finn of Washington's 35th district being interviewed.

Fun new tools to promote what we are up to

I have been busy lately creating videos from still shots. It really is amazing what a lay person can do with some good software and quality photos.

Your organization may have the best networking events around but if only a relatively small amount people know about it then you have a problem. Same with a beautiful area that tourists would love but nobody knows about it.

Some months ago we hired a professional photographer to attend all of our luncheons, after hours events, grand openings, etc....Steve Zugschwerdt is that photographer. We also hired him to take tourism photos.

This first video is of Mason County tourism sites and our urban growth areas (UGAs). We sent him up in a helicopter to capture these shots. With these video tools and Internet social networking, we can get the word out far and wide.

The second video is of our networking opportunities. As I keep saying, people love to do business with friends. Attending Chamber sponsored networking events is the best way to meet new business minded friends and get those relationships started.

I feel so fortunate to have these tools that allow us to tell our story. Organizations that aren't using these tools are missing the boat, imho.

Frank

Chairman of the Chamber Council of AWB

I have been blessed to be nominated to Chair the Chamber Council of the Association of Washington Business (AWB), our state's Chamber of Commerce. This is a big honor for me as I have only been in Chamber work for three years.

It is a testament to several things.

First, my heavy and early adoption of Internet social networking has allowed me to brand myself as a leader. I am highly visible on many sites, teach association management and ISN widely, and love to share what works. It has contributed to our 92% membership growth in the past 18 months.

Second, I have a first rate board of directors. They are total pros. My Chairman of the Board is an especially talented leader.

Third, my chamber has invested in my success through association training. I recently graduated from my 3rd year of W.A.C.E Academy.

Forth, I have amazing staff.

Finally, I have a loving and supportive family that allows me the freedom to dream. Thank you Margi.

In this quick video, my Chairman of the Board, Mike Boyle, reads the nomination letter from the AWB. Thank you Mike and all the membership.

How we grew our membership by 85% in 18 months

I was recently asked about our membership growth and our Internet social networking strategy. Seems many organizations still haven't jumped in for various reasons. This is how I answered that question.

Concerning launching Internet social networking (ISN) for our Chamber, what we did first was to decide that this is where the puck is going (reference to the Wayne Gretzky quote). Clearly this is a big idea that is only getting bigger. It is not a question of "if" your organization will be using these tools, it is "when".

Once I knew that we would be doing this eventually, I kindly informed our chairman of the board that we were doing this. It wasn't a question so much as a statement. He said OK.

The strategy was just to do more of what we were already doing, but with ISN we could promote more effectively, organize more effectively, build better relationships, etc...

First thing I did was create the Chamber's Blog. I originally used the Blogger platform but our technology guy on the board thought Wordpress would be much better. It is much more powerful but also more complicated to set up. Get help with setting it up. He was also concerned about our branding strategy and how that would be diminished by having two websites. I stood my ground, asked the chairman to trust me, and created the Wordpress blog.

Then I created my personal blog for thoughts that I didn't want to put on the official Chamber Blog. This is also where I could build my personal brand and express my personal thoughts and interests. I never take off my chamber hat though. In this job if you say it, even personally, it appears to be the chamber position.

Soon after, I launched the North Mason Chamber member-only site at MyNorthMasonChamber.com on the Ning platform. Here came our tech guy again saying we were dividing our branding three ways now and really put some pressure on the chair to slow me down. My chair stuck with me because I earnestly believe in the power of Internet social networking for our organization and because I hadn't stubbed my toe when blogging. I fought to keep up the momentum and to make this happen.

A leader causes a ruckus and no one kicks a dead dog.

I believe those three basic tools are the absolute foundation of a chamber ISN strategy. Quickly adding Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, and your eMail blasts rounds out the program. They are all RSS'd back and forth. They are posted to daily. The member-only site on the Ning platform will be the anchor with 25 to 35 percent of your members joining in the first few months. They will post dozens of times to your one time, keeping the site active. You must also nurture the sites by seeding them, reinviting members to join, engaging them, friending them, coaxing them along until they have a habit of contributing. This is all new to them too.

You will need to teach classes on all of this to get your members up to speed. Remember to teach them about being "One of us". We hold free monthly ISN classes for our members.

Our membership has grown from 210 members in April of 2008 to 395 September 2009. I attribute more than half of that growth and retention to using the sites to create and build relationships, promote events, spread the word about members and programs, etc....You will get very favorable press and your organization will look modern and effective. If you don't do this soon, you will look outdated and slow.

I tell organization executives to just do it. If you feel you have to crawl on your knees to ask permission they are going to sense that you see too many risks and dangers. That you don't understand the technology. Or that you aren't 100% convinced. Don't be like that. Announce at your next board meeting that your are launching ISN for your group. Period. Or, announce that the sites are up and running and you would appreciate them contributing (chances are few of them will right off).

And, if you just aren't going to do it, that it fine. Somebody in your town will launch "Internet social networking for your town's businesses" or for your organizations target market. You will have lost one of your niches, creating networking opportunities, at least online networking. Business owners don't need multiple ISN sites for your town. Organization members don't either. If you aren't first you may not even be necessary.

All that being said, you know your organization best. In my chamber I was able to just do it. Your situation may be different. Then again, it may not be. Maybe you just need to lead.

The world rewards boldness.

"One of Us"

Hat tip to Chris Brogan and Julien Smith for their book "Trust Agents" for this one.

Our Chamber of Commerce has a member-only Internet social networking site at MyNorthMasonChamber.com. More than 25% of our members have signed up to use it. Not a bad adoption rate, in my humble opinion.

One of the things I have noticed is that members need to become "One of Us" before they reap the benefits of belonging to the group. I think this is exactly what Chris and Julien were talking about in one of their chapters.

For example, some of the new users jump right in with 50 friend requests, photos of themselves, quick invites to purchase from them, etc.....And their response rate is about zero.

On the other hand, some members just offer friend requests to fellow members that they have already met at luncheons or after hour events. Or, if they do say hello to a stranger, they introduce themselves and earnestly try to learn about their fellow new acquaintances. These people are much more successful on developing new budding relationships. And eventually end up being one the group.

People can sense when a person is just too self-focused. It is a huge mistake to try to get before you have given.

If you want to explore this more deeply, buy Trust Agents. It is a good read and offers a lot of value.

Frank

Measuring yours and your association's effectiveness in a web 2.0 world

A few days ago I came across a chamber of commerce that still highlighted in their newsletter how many phone calls they handled and how many referrals they made to members in the last month (from those phone calls). It got me to thinking about how will chambers be measured in the web 2.0 age.

It occurred to me that this chamber was setting itself up for an inevitable fall. With the Internet, and especially the Google search engine, people just don't have to call the chamber as much anymore. If the exec has board members, or the media, asking why the call volume is down, and partially judging your performance by that, that just can't be a good discussion. Why even have it? It is inevitably going to go down over the long term. Phone calls for info is so 1980's.

At membership luncheons and board meeting our chamber talks about our 123 members using our members-only networking site. The tens of thousands of page in the last few month. The # of videos posted. How many members are using Twitter, on the Chambers Facebook fan page, using Linkedin, etc....to promote themselves and fellow members.These are going to be the new metrics that we are judged upon, I think. And if my bets on social networking are correct, they are going to grow substantially for the foreseeable future.

As a side note, when we are having to call past-due chamber members, we are not having to call members that are actively participating in the member-only networking site. We all know that members who participate at luncheons and After Hours are less likely to drop. I am finding the same thing with participation in the online networking groups. It is a retention tool.

What do you think?

Internet social networking multiplied by Chamber of Commerce membership - simple yet powerful

Want to hear about a powerful combination that is making a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs and executives? I call it Word of Mouth on Steroids. And it is attracting large audiences.

As a Chamber President/CEO, I have been traveling widely, making presentations to Chambers of Commerce on this concept.

Here is how it works (don't be fooled by how simple this looks. It is very powerful): Take the Internet social networking phenomenon and simply multiply it by Chamber of Commerce membership. The result is Word of Mouth on Steroids.

Check out the one-hour presentation (below) I gave this past week to the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce. It was their largest ever attended business breakfast.

(The first group of slides show a recent news article on our Internet social networking efforts being Tweeted out by new contacts over 20 times to over 106,000 of their followers)

To confirm that I am coming at this from experience and success, I include how Internet social networking has helped to increase our Chamber membership by more than 80% in about 18 months.

Our powerful member-only social networking site, http://mynorthmasonchamber.com, on the Ning platform, plus our Facebook Fan Page, Chamber Blog, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, Constant Contact, etc....has become a powerful force for our members.

And, it is included in the investment in membership.

No extra cost to the members for these powerful new tools.

I am able to share with Chamber members, most of which are small business owners and managers, that they must embrace Internet social networking for a variety of reasons. I provide:

• Direct examples of success
• The concept of "being where the puck is going to be"
• The fact that your customers crave a relationship with you
  
• Statistics and figures to support my statements
• How to's and what not to's
• Time tested and proven ISN strategies
• Examples of Word of Mouth on Steroids - The good, bad and ugly
• Call to Action

I show how fellow Chamber members can support each other by helping to spread the word about member events, sales, news, fundraisers, etc....I even discuss the value of following each other just to make sure negative word of mouth isn't going unanswered and what do when, not if but when, negative word of mouth occurs.

You can imagine seeing the light bulbs go on when I remind members that fellow members want them to be successful. They have your back. They will work towards and celebrate your success and vice-versa.

Members have hundreds of fellow members working for them....for free...if they choose to embrace my concepts.

What a beautiful thing.

Of course, this was all true before the Internet but now, with the ability to help fellow members basically for free with social networking, members have the tools to dramatically be of service.

And gain the benefits for themselves!

If you would be interested in having me come to your Chamber or association (this works for all associations that want the best for their members) and explain these powerful concepts ( and a few more that I go into detail on in my presentations) and other positive effects of Internet social networking and association membership, please contact me at frank@northmasonchamber.com.

My speaking topics are available at http://frankkennysblog.blogspot.com/. I am constantly adding new business, Chamber, ISN, and association related topics. Contact me with your ideas and we can probably work something out.

Now go out there and join your local chamber, or mine, and be part of the excitement.


Frank Kenny
President/CEO
North Mason Chamber of Commerce

Recent Testimonials

Silvia Klatman, Executive Director, Bremerton Area Chamber of Commerce

And what a top-notch job you did, Mr. Kenny! The rave reviews are overwhelming!

Mega kudos to Frank Kenny with the North Mason Chamber. He did an amazing business seminar today on using social networking sites for your business. WOW! He packed our brains and jazzed us up. Woo hoo!

Ted Christensen - The Insurance Office of Ted Christensen

Hi Frank; Congratulations on making the July 24 issue of the Puget Sound Business Journal in an article that started on the front page regarding social networks. And to have you featured in a two column center page spread with picture was a coup for you! Great exposure. Keep it up.

Annetta Knight - Bremerton Chamber of Commerce member - Pacific Northwest Costume

Frank, You rock! Wonderful presentation this am. Thanks!

Gary Chaney - Bremerton Chamber member

It worked for me and I got in some networking with really nice people.

Suzy O'Brien - Aflac - North Mason Chamber and Bremerton Chamber

Frank, I so enjoyed your workshop today on Facebook, Twitter, etc. It's taking me a while, but I'm ready, and the information you gave today seemed to solidify me moving forward.

You're a great speaker, kept everybody's interest, get the point across, and have a sense of humor. Looking forward to learning more and more, Suzy :) Thanks again!!!!

Fay Marley-Clarke - Photographer and North Mason Chamber member

Thanks for the great presentation on Social Networking yesterday. Really glad I got in on the ground floor with this. And, yes I did have a breakthrough. Good stuff!

Professor John Campbell - North Mason Chamber member

Frank Kenny is a real 21st century communication trend setter. He gave a superb seminar this afternoon at the Chamber. If you have a chance to attend one of his presentations you really must.

More comments....

Sucess Story

A big thank you goes out to the Kitsap Business Journal and writer Rodika Tollefson for writing a great article on what our Chamber is doing to introduce Internet social networking to our members. We have proactively taking on a leadership role because we think it is a huge opportunity for our members to grow and improve their organizations through relationships and promotion.

Here is the story http://www.kpbj.com/technology/2009-08-03_social_networking_the_north_mason_chamber_of_commerce_success_story

This story has been picked up by dozens of sources nationwide. Check out the timeline http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%22North+Mason+Chamber%22

In the story, they reference our networking site at http://www.mynorthmasonchamber.com but they point it to the wrong site. Please use this link to our networking site.

North Mason Chamber goes regional

Our quarterly newsletter will be going out tomorrow. 377 members will receive this by mail and 123 (500 less mailed issues) will be hand delivered to businesses. Our chamber has grown 79% since April 2008 and now has a regional membership base.

The newsletter is designed and written by Pam Merrill of Outlook Writing and Design.

Please view the video. If you would like a copy of the newsletter by pdf please visit NorthMasonChamber.com

Internet social networking benefits chamber members

Have you seen the press we have been getting for our efforts to bring the benefits of Internet social networking to our members?

As regular readers might know, our Chamber has taken on a leadership role in introducing and championing Internet social networking for Chambers of Commerce and their members. These efforts are part of the reason our Chamber membership has increased 79% since April 2008.

In my opinion, ISN is either the greatest boon for Chambers in years or perhaps the biggest risk.

This early adoption and focus on ISN has gathered us some great press and has allowed me to be invited to speak at several large chamber conventions.

If you are interested in our efforts and results, you may want to read these recent articles that cover our progress.

http://www.kpbj.com/technology/2009-08-03_social_networking_the_north_mason_chamber_of_commerce_success_story

http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/07/27/story4.html (full story here)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/29/is-belfair-ready-for-twitter/

In June, I was fortunate enough to present our work to the Washington State Chamber of Commerce Executives Technology (WCCE) conference in Yakima. I will be presenting ISN at the WCCE statewide conference this fall in Thurston County.

I will be speaking on the topic at the Western Association of Chamber Executives (WACE) conference in San Francisco in February, 2010 and at the Northwest Chamber Leaders conference in Coeur d'Alene in March, 2010.

In August I am teaching a one hour course to the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce in Washington State. Other one, two, and four hour courses are in the works for Chambers and other organizations..

ISN is a big deal to Chambers, other non-profit associations, small, medium and large businesses. In other words, it is a big deal to all organizations. If you would care for me to share with your group what has worked and what hasn't, please contact me at frank@northmasonchamber.com.

WACE Academy

My 3rd and final year of Academy, run by the Western Association of Chamber Executives (WACE), gets started August 2nd. Academy is a 3 year program for Chamber of Commerce executives who want to be certified as Accredited Chamber Executives.




All types of continuing educational training in your field are important. Academy has been dramatically important to my learning, providing years of hard-knocks education and wisdom in just a few short years.

Thank you WACE for doing such a fine job of elevating the profession!

If your local Chamber of Commerce Executive is ACE certified, congratulate them on their professionalism and dedication to their field. We do this for our members, the vast majority of which are small business.

North Mason Chamber of Commerce on Facebook

Internet Social Networking Training for Chamber Members

I have a class coming up in the West Sound area for the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce. Contact information is below if you would like to attend. Open to the public. RSVP required.

8/13/2009	Building Your Business Seminar
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Using Social Networking Sites to Promote Your Business Guest Speaker = Frank Kenny - North Mason Chamber of Commerce Ambrosia's Catering 4954 State Highway 303, Bremerton RSVP by August 12 $10 for Chamber members $15 for non-members Call the Chamber at 479-3579 or Chamber

View all our class offerings here.

Internet Social Networking Training

North Mason Chamber of Commerce


Taking a leadership role in Internet social networking
for Chamber of Commerce members

The Results?


75% increase in membership over last year - Over 160 new members (net)

Increased our member investment (dues) line item from $26,000 to more than $75,000

Multiple positive articles in printed and online media


Why such a great year for our chamber?


WE INTRODUCED INTERNET SOCIAL NETWORKING
TO OUR MEMBERS

You can too! We will help.

Classes and training presented at a fun, informative, and quick pace.

Find more videos like this on My North Mason Chamber Network

Following up on my presentation to the Washington State Chamber of Commerce Executives (WCCE) at the technology summit in June, I am scheduling a series of training sessions for Chambers of Commerce that want to take the next step in bringing Internet social networking to their chamber.

At the technology conference, I urged my fellow execs to join me in championing ISN statewide. They agreed. The first step is training.

The schedule is being filled. Get up to speed quickly on these important new tools. Grow your chamber. Offer more value. Your Board and your members will thank you.

Frank Kenny is the President/CEO of the North Mason Chamber of Commerce. His chamber is among the leaders in the nation in utilizing Internet Social Networking (ISN). He has a presence of more than a dozen social networking sites and is at the 99.3% Twitter ranking according to Twitter.Grader.com. He has taught at the WCCE technology conference and is scheduled to teach Internet social networking at the State conference and Western Association Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.) National Conference in 2010.

Workshops

Schedule one of these fun and valuable workshops.
Take the next step.


Contact frank@northmasonchamber.com
or call 360-275-4267 to claim your place in the training schedule:

• Executive Director Internet Social Networking Workshop - I will share with the exec and staff what our chamber has tried that has worked and what has failed to work. I have spent many hundreds of hours testing and using various ISN sites with a focus on usability and Return on Investment for chambers of commerce and members. Learn from our success. Your board, tech committee, and members are invited to participate. - 2 hours
  

$750 value
only $500 (plus travel expenses if applicable)

• Member Internet Social Networking Workshop - Two hours of hands on member training on Twitter, LinkedIn, FaceBook, and others....All focused on return on investment and business. Your chamber doesn't need to be 100% up to speed for you to facilitate this training. You will be offering real value that your members are looking for! - 2 hours
  

$750 value
only $500 (plus travel expenses if applicable)
i.e. - 20 members at $25/each

• Complete Internet Social Networking Workshop - Up to 2 hours with the executive and staff with the remainder of time in workshop with your members. Get you and your chamber up to speed quickly and gain all the benefits of being a leading chamber. This will jump start your involvement in ISN while saving you countless hours of frustration and learning from mistakes. - 4 hours
  

$1000 value
only $750 (plus travel expenses if applicable)
i.e. - 30 members at $25/each

• Regional Internet Social Networking Conference - Are you a leading chamber? Are you capable of organizing a regional ISN conference that would brand you and your chamber as visionery and effective business leader? Can you bring together your surrounding chambers and take on the role as the lead organizer? This is your chance to lead! Conferences such as these are selling out nationwide. The conference will be focused on your members and prospective members. We will help you to organize the event including multiple professional speakers and trainers. Lead your community into the next big thing.

Fee dependent on number of attendees

• Other - What do you have in mind. Frank is available for ISN training or speaking on various topics of concern to chambers of commerce. Let's talk about your ideas.

Visit MyNorthMasonChamber.com for our members-only networking site
and visit Twitter/frankkenny for Frank's Twitter timeline.

"Frank Kenny is a real 21st century communication trend setter. He gave a superb seminar this afternoon at the Chamber. If you have a chance to attend one of his presentations you really must."

Professor John Angus Campbell
Member - North Mason Chamber

Internet social networking training for Chambers of Commerce and their members

Press Release

Immediate Release

6-19-2009 – Belfair, WA – Frank Kenny, North Mason Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, was a featured speaker on Friday, June 12th at the first annual Washington Chamber of Commerce Association (WCCE) Internet Social Networking summit in Yakima, WA. Mr. Kenny gave an overview of what the North Mason Chamber is doing to lead the nation, among chambers of commerce, in introducing and championing Internet social networking for chambers of commerce and their members. More than 30 chamber executives attended the sold-out event.

At the event, Mr. Kenny challenged the chamber executives in the room to join him in leading the nation saying, “Chambers of Commerce are the natural communications bridge between business and the community. Our chamber is at the bleeding edge here and we want to share what we are doing with the rest of the state because it is working so well. Let’s lead!” The challenge was accepted and endorsed by the Board of Directors of WCCE. Mr. Kenny is offering training to any chamber in the state that wishes to get up to speed on Internet social networking for chambers of commerce. He has also set up a networking site exclusively for Washington chamber of commerce staff to share best practices. A series of region training conferences is in the works with details to be announced soon. The first regional conference will most likely be held in the West Sound – Kitsap Peninsula area.

Mr. Kenny has also been booked to be a presenter at the annual state chamber of commerce convention in Thurston County this fall. Additionally, he will be a featured presenter in February 2010 at the West Association of Chamber Executives (WACE) annual convention in Burlingame, California on Internet social networking for chambers and how to utilize the Internet to increase attendance at in-person networking events. The annual convention attracts more than 450 chamber executives from the western United States and Canada.

Mr. Kenny can be reached through the North Mason Chamber of Commerce at 360-275-4267 or frank@northmasonchamber.com. His blog is at http://www.frankkenny.net.

Internet Social Networking for Chambers of Commerce

This past Friday, June 12th 2009, I was one of the teachers in a state wide technology conference for chamber of commerce executives. My part was teaching Internet social networking and showing what our chamber is doing for its members by utilizing ISN. The class was sold-out and the feedback was very positive.

During my presentation I threw a "Gauntlet" to my peers to join me in leading the nation in championing Internet social networking for Chambers of commerce. They voted to accept the challenge!

Washington state chambers are officially taking a leadership role in introducing and educating members on the value and techniques of ISN. If you would like to know more please contact Frank@northmasonchamber.com

Here is the post on the ChamberPeople that talks more about the event:

On June 12th, 2009 the Washington Chamber of Commerce Executive association held a tech conference in Yakima, WA. A sold-out crowd of about 30 of us gathered to discuss all things techy that chambers should be considering.

Dave Warkentin of the Walla Walla Chamber showed how WordPress can be used to easily create very powerful websites that you control (no more middle people or IT between you and the chamber's website). He was able to create a "policy portal" for the Yakima chamber in less than 2 hours. You can too. Call Dave for for info.

The folks at 180Networks discussed all sorts of things dealing with the back-end tech of running a first class chamber. Contact them for info.

I covered what our chamber is doing for its members by championing Internet social networking for chambers of commerce. Here is my PP ISN for WCCE final.pptx. I hope to have the video to post soon. We have 92 members using MyNorthMasonChamber.com, our members-only networking site. With 30,000 views in just 3 months, it is more active and offers significantly more value to our members than our website which we have had for many years. Contact me if you want to discuss how this could work for your chamber. I also covered how Twitter is being introduced to our community by the chamber.

Kyle Sexton anchored the meeting with a great overview of what ISN means for chambers. He did a terrific job of pulling it all together in a very understandable and persuasive way. If you have a chance to have Kyle present to your group you should grab it. Kyle is absolutely a leader in his efforts to make chambers modern and exceptional. Do yourself a favor and call him.

"Nice work" goes out to Bob Green of WCCE for organizing the event. Hat tip to Mike Morrisette from the Yakima Chamber for hosting and the great lunch.

One of the things to come out of the meeting is that the Chambers in the State of Washington are excited to be taking on a leadership role in bringing Internet social networking to chamber members and chambers of commerce across the county. Our motto: Let's Lead. Please contact Frank at the North Mason Chamber if you have questions, ideas, etc...

If you attended the event, please post your thoughts below.

Internet Social Networking for Chambers of Commerce

Here is a video of segment of a class I teach to Chambers of Commerce on how they can offer tremendous value to the membership by having their own Internet social networking site and then adding Twitter to the mix. It really does put "Word of the Mouth on Steroids".

I am available to teach this class to Chambers and other non-profits. Contact me frank@northmasonchamber.com for info.

Frank Kenny's Internet Social Networking for Chamber's of Commerce from Frank Kenny on Vimeo.

And here is the PP that I work from. http://tinyurl.com/ozjv2u


The North Mason Chamber is a nation wide leader in championing internet social networking for its members and the community.

Internet Social Networking Class Friday June 5th at Noon.

I am giving a class today at noon to about 16 of my members (class sold out). It is going to be a monthly presentation on beginner social networking for chamber members. Kyle Sexton and I am also giving something similar to WCCE on June 12th. It is also sold out.

I will add an intermediate and advanced course as the year goes on.

I believe chambers are in a sweet spot between the business community and public concerning social networking. With the active participation of members, we (and they) can reach all 200,000 people in our area for free through these services. Everyone of the 200,000 people in my area has a relationship with at least one member, if not several. We, the chambers, are the natural bridge and conduit. And, if don't own it, someone else will.

Vision this: A member, who is a non-profit, sets up a webpage to take online donations. That member Tweets (Twitter) out about a fund raiser with a compelling reason to donate. First, that members followers, all 200 of whom she has built a relationship with over time and all of whom follow her out of free will, have a chance to donate say $5. Now, I am a follower of course and I donate $5 plus I ReTweet her compelling message to my 2100 followers, most of whom are local. I was not the only one to ReTweet the first message though. Suppose 6 of the 200 did. Now about 6,000 local people have the opportunity to donate and ReTweet again. It is exponential. Free. Personal.

Anthony Robbins, the public speaker has 500,000 followers. They LOVE him. Would they give $5 bucks to feel closer to Tony. In a minute. Well, with small local businesses, thier customers also love the owners and individual staff. With a compelling ask, non-profits are going to be able to raise substantial funds, smaller amounts on average, but from a much larger and new population.

I really see this as potentially one of the most powerful, and FREE, ways to quickly spread the word LOCALLY.

I am focused on getting local members to encourage their local customers to follow them and then each member can all follow all the local people. Theoretically, we should be following thousands of local people within a few months.

I will keep you informed.

Inspirational

When ever you begin to feel sorry for yourself you may want to watch this video. Then, count your blessings. Then, be of service.

I guarantee you your period of melancholy will pass. The sooner you become "of service" the sooner the good times return. And, in my experience, they always return.

Frank

Funny Thing Just Happened To Me

This is just too funny. I am working late (almost 7:00 pm when the day started at 5:45 am). Anyway, I am returning phone messages left during the day when I was in meetings. I returned the call of a lady who was looking for a business near us. I looked up the number for her and she basically said, "Never mind. If I had to wait for you I would be dead already." and hung up.

The funny thing isn't that she was entirely rude and ungrateful for the free Chamber service. Or even that it was well after working hours. It was that the number was for a singles group organizer (I Googled her). Single? I can't believe it.

Too funny.

Big Goals for Our Chamber

We are implementing a plan to make our Chamber the leader in utilizing Internet Social Networking. Wish us luck.

Stay tuned.

Social Networking

I am putting together two social networking presentations. The first is for the 35th District Republicans in Washington State. The second is to the Washingston State Chamber Commerce Executives.

If you are interested in seeing the presentations, I will be glad to share my PowerPoint presentations. I am also available to speak to other group as my schedule allows.

Tourism Commercial

These are two new TV commercials that are running in the Seattle/Tacoma markets. They will reach 500,000 Comcast cable customers. We put in $50,000 from a lodging tax grant. Comcast matched us dollar for dollar and added $8,000 in Internet ads.

What do you think?

From Blogging to Twittering?

I have an observation about myself that may play into this social networking movement.

When I started this blog I was faithfully posting every few days. I then started Twittering on a daily bases. My blog posts fell to weekly and then monthly while my Twittering continued on daily. Sometimes multiple times a day.

What I am thinking is that even though I like to write and have things to share on my blog, I have my need to be social and to share fulfilled on Twitter in only 140 characters. That sure saves the time and thought that goes into a well rounded blog pot.

Have others noticed this? I wonder if the amount and frequency of blogging is decreasing as Twitter is adopted?

Delayed Retirement Means Learning (grudgingly) about Social Networking

I know lots of people that are really good at what they do. Most are small business men and women that know their niche very well and have earned a pretty good living from it. They have diligently saved and invested. They own property. Being Baby Boomers, they have been anticipating retirement for many years and most had enough money stowed away to provide for a comfortable lifestyle.

All of these people I am referring to use computers at some level. They didn't grow up using them. They use them out of necessity. Some have to use email. Some have to know how to use a browser. A few use accounting packages. Almost none of them actually enjoy using the computer. It is simply a confusing and frustrating tool that is required in the current age to do certain critical things. When they go home at night the last thing they think about is surfing on the computer.

These are good people

They had money enough saved and invested for retirement. They were only a few years, or even months, from retirement. They knew just enough about computers to function in today's world, given that they were retiring.

Then Bammmmm. Bubble Burst.

In the past year, they have seen their investment values plummet. Business that once made substantial sums of money, year in and year out, are now losing money. The Boomers are anything but secure and comfortable now. 30 years of faithfully saving and investing and now, they can't afford to retire. Through no fault of their own, their nest eggs are broken and they can't retire.

And, they have allowed themselves to get too far behind on the computer learning curve. They are competing in a new world. They had every expectation of being retired before the next generation caught up to them. Talk about a rude wake up call.

Most of them are stoic about the need to keep working for many more years. It takes awhile to earn back several hundred thousand dollars in a tight economy. What they haven't been able to come to grips with yet is that they aren't able to compete at the highest level now because the next generation, the ones they weren't worried about before, is computer literate.

Heck, the next generation likes computers.

They use them after work to, gasp, keep on working. The next generation jumps on Face Book, Linked In, Twitter, etc.....for fun and profit. The boomers thought they would enjoy computer free bliss on the beach. Instead, the smart and brave ones will be going back to school to learn something they hate from someone 20 years younger. I fear for the timid ones.

Boomers, if you want to compete in this new age, you have no choice. And this might sound harsh but you need to hear it. If you can't browse the web for information, you are an antique. Nobody wants to do business with someone that far behind the curve. If you don't have an active presence on the social networking sites then you will lose business to someone who does.

I feel bad for those seniors who took pride in not knowing how to use the computer. Now that they have to stay in the work force, and have to compete with the next generation for a piece of a smaller pie, they are in for some tough times. Some will say that they should have known better. I think the times just went too fast for them. Now, they are so far behind that they are daunted by the challenge of getting up to speed. They really don't have a choice though. I mostly just have pity for them. It isn't easy catching up.

The world is not going to come to the end for these folks. It is just much harder to be successful when your competitor, who is twenty or thirty years younger, has more tools and energy than you. And I hope these seniors realize that it isn't cool to say that they don't use computers. It is sad. It makes others hesitate to do business with you because you they think you can't possibly do as good a job as someone else in the same field that utilizes the incredible power of the Internet and social networking.

There are bright spots though. It warms my heart when a 65 year old knows how to boot up a computer, browse the web, and use email. Some even have a presence on the social web. They have chosen to stay relevant. They have life. They are young at heart. For them, the world is still an oyster.

And they get my business because they have the wisdom that comes from long life and they are current.

Read this quote before it is too late

Intelligent Words To Consider...

Hopefully enough of our leaders will see this quote and take it to heart before it is too late for our nation.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for — that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it"

—The late Dr. Adrian Rogers 1931-2005

From http://westsoundpolitics.blogspot.com/index.html

More Bailouts

AIG is getting another dose of our money....If some business is too big to fail then maybe it is too big to exists. In my opinion, we can't be held hostage to the threat that if we let a company go through the normal BK procedures then the economy will go back to the stone age. B.S.

Long ago we passed a law that a company couldn't have a full monopoly. The world didn't come to an end. A new law that says if your company's failure would trash the entire economy, then it needs to be broken up.

What say you?

Frank

If a picture is worth......

I have purchased the new Flip video camera. While it is basic and inexpensive, it fits my needs really well. One of things I am doing is recording chamber member videos and posting them on our chamber's networking Internet site, mynorthmasonchamber.com. I am also posting community service pieces such as projects and fundraisers

I think that Internet video is a really big deal that is only getting bigger. Chambers that use it to highlight and showcase their members will be providing a fresh service that the members will appreciate.

I am also using it to recruit new members. At our recent regional business EXPO I went to some non-member booths and recorded a short video and posted it on the net. I am betting this will translate into new members.

We are roiling out our Internet networking site this Wednesday, February 25th. It will be interesting to see if we get a high adoption rate from the members. They will be asking, "what's in it for me?" I am preparing my presentation to answer just that question.

I am also curious to see if members who sign up will contribute and stick with it. The videos will be a major factor in that, I am thinking.

Stay tuned to this blog and I will let you know how it works.

As an aside, if it works for Chambers, I think it will work for service organizations and associations.

Opportunity Wasted?

I just returned from a chamber of commerce conference in Vegas. About 450 chamber executives were gathered from the western states. In the conference, I reported on the business unfriendly legislation going through Olympia this year.

I received no sympathy from my colleagues from California. As bad as Washington is for business, with an awful B&O tax, high UI and L&I rates, and a general skepticism toward job creators, California is even worse.

California's dysfunctionality and huge economy creates a great opportunity for Washington State to attract its best and brightest. What we can't do is offer false promises and gimmicks. But, if we truly get our states act together with reforms that attract jobs and money out of California, then we could be creating a pro jobs legacy that we can be proud of. Given our past and the current makeup in Oympia, I am not holding my breadth. Matter of fact, given the current set of the legislation moving forward, I am just hoping for "do no harm". How sad is that?

Internet Social Networking

Press Release

Immediate Release

Belfair, WA 2-11-2009 - The North Mason Chamber of Commerce February Membership Luncheon will be held Wednesday the 25th at 11:30 at the Theler Community Center in Belfair.

The topic will be the new and exciting Internet Social Networking tools that the Chamber is making available to its membership. Chamber President and CEO, Frank Kenny, will present the new tools, which will make our members, even those that are skeptical of computers and technology, more effective and successful. The social networking sites are being utilized effectively by millions of people with thousands more signing up daily.

According to Mr. kenny, “These are free and easy to use, yet cutting edge, programs that take advantage of new technologies. They will allow our chamber members to promote their businesses, share information, show their videos and commercials, post comments, and generally communicate with fellow members and the world 24/7.”

As one of the early adopting Chambers, taking a first mover advantage as it relates to Internet technology, the North Mason Chamber is utilizing the following Internet tools, collectively known as web 2.0: A North Mason Chamber Blog at blogs.northmasonchamber.com, a members only social networking site at mynorthmasonchamber.com, a news and info broadcast site at Twitter.com, and a networking site for business professionals at LinkedIn.com.

These Internet technologies will allow the Chamber to stay current with technology and expand on the chamber’s unique position of providing networking opportunities, but now on a continual bases. The sites are currently in Beta version (testing) but go live February 25th for the luncheon.

The public is invited to attend if they are curious about the future of Internet networking and how the North Mason Chamber is bringing web 2.0 to its members.

Contact Frank Kenny at 360-275-4267 with questions.

Brand Yourself

I have an observation. Nothing ground breaking but it may help someone out.

To begin; a question: With all the free social networking options that are available today, why do some people absolutely refuse to take advantage of them? Others dip their toe in the water but fail to stick it out. I have heard the excuses....no time, don't like computers, don't see the value, yada yada yada.

All a bunch of hooey.

Look. For those of you who are not taking advantage of social networking, you need to change your thinking and make it a priority. Get on the stick. Here are some of the reasons why.

• You are self-employed. You may think you work for somebody else but that is just not so. You are a one person business and you had better well start marketing yourself and taking responsibility for your future. You think you are indispensable? Better think again. You may have a "job" today but tomorrow you may not. That means you are basically freelance. The concept of lifetime employment went the way of the dinosaur media. Don't wait for the pink slip to land on your desk to brand yourself through social networking.

• Another reason to get going now on Internet social networking is that the revolution is still in its infancy, relatively. In a few years it will be tougher to break through the noise. But right now, if you just invest an hour a day diligently sharing your knowledge and helping others to be successful, you will have some success breaking through.

• Consider this, not too many years ago you had to write a book, become CEO, have your 15 minutes of fame, get your article published, or experience some other rare event to become well known and respected in your field. Not anymore. Chances are your trade association, chamber of commerce, union, field of endeavor, whatever, has created a social networking site that allows you to associate with the leaders and up and comers in your profession. You can develop strong relationships with your peers and industry veterans simply by joining the conversation.
  

• Finally, times are tough and they might be getting a lot tougher. Your competition is doing this. Nuff said.
  

PROACTIVELY MARKET/BRAND YOURSELF THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKING

You should be, and can be, proactively branding yourself. It is remarkably easy to create an online brand, for better or worse. Some people post hateful jabs on blogs and media sites. They spew, "I am angry and disgruntled. I am a victim. I am not successful and I don't want you to be successful either, not in my back yard, etc..." We have all seen these hateful and all too common posts. Most of them are disgusting. But you know what, these losers are proactively branding themselves (negatively). Conversely, intelligent and forward thinking people post comments that are thoughtful, helpful, kind, considerate, etc....They are also branding themselves but in a positive way.

MONEY SHOT

Now, everyone should put this positive branding concept on steroids by having an active blog (perhaps read by hundreds or thousands), contribute daily to Twitter, maintain your Linked In account, post to FaceBook, subscribe to your association social networking sites, thoughtfully comment on media sites, etc....

And, for the love of GOD, post your best photo as an avatar and use your real name on everything you contribute to.

Do you get it? You are branding yourself (for better or worse) no less then Pepsi proactively brands itself.

By taking advantage of the social networking phenomena you get to shape, in large measure, how you are perceived. You get to brand yourself as an expert. Build yourself up by broadcasting that award you received. Impress people by being helpful and humble. Show that you value being of service. Show that you have Integrity in all you do. It is up to you. Take take the lead and create the brand for yourself or allow your brand to be formulated by others.

I Admit. I Haven't Always Practiced What I am Preaching

I used to feel terribly guilty for spending hours and hours playing online games or watching TV. I justified it by saying, "I worked hard all day and now I want to relax. Besides, there are no career building activities available to me right at this moment. The work day is done and I don't have a night meeting, so I may as well relax and distress with a mindless activity." Yada yada yada.

Sounds pretty familiar in our culture doesn't it. Common excuses. Millions of people do the same thing every night. Night after night. However, I now realize the game has changed. With social networking, if I invest an hour or two contributing to my blog, your blog, Linked In, Twitter, etc....I am branding myself and furthering my career. I am in control of my brand. No more excuses. No more waiting for my ship to come in. I am the pilot and captain of my ship.

THERE IS NO LONGER ANY VALID EXCUSE FOR NOT BEING PROACTIVE IN DEVELOPING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND AND FURTHERING YOUR CAREER

Optimism even in Turbulent Times

At our North Mason Rotary meeting Thursday, I used my happy bucks to say, and I am paraphrasing myself, that the economy is going through a rough time, sure, but it isn't necessarily as bad as the media is making it out to be and we needed to stay optimistic.

Boy did I get some friendly howls of derision from some of my fellow members. I also got some applauds but not many.

Mostly, I was made fun of.

I said what I said for at least two good reasons, and I would say it again.

The first reason I spoke in favor of remaining optimistic is that it always better to assume good things will be coming along, rather than bad things. We very often create our own realities. If you expect the worst, you will often, subconsciously, create that reality. I don't pretend to be a psychologist but I firmly believe that we get what we focus on. If you are sure you will be out of business and broke within the year, I will almost guarantee you your "plan" will come true.

The reverse is also true. If you are "sure" that things will work out for you and your businesses, that will also happen, in some form. It may not turn out exactly as you envision, you may have to create a whole new business model for yourself, or work longer and harder, or any of a million things. But I promise you this, you are infinitely more likely to end up "fine" if your mindset and belief system hold to that perspective.

It really is a no-brainer for me. Staying positive will always bring better results for you than being negative. Matter of fact, if you have negative people around you, run.

My second reason for being an outspoken optimist even in these turbulent times is that I am the President/CEO of a Chamber of Commerce. Entrepreneurs are taking huge risks and performing critical servicing for our economy. The last thing they, or we as a society needs, is naysayers saying that they are doomed to fail. Years ago, when I was going through a tough time, a loser whispered some real negative stuff to me. Being in a pinch and confused about what I should do, I allowed his poison to influence my thinking. In retrospect, he did more damage to my position than any other single factor.

Let me add a couple of caveats here. We all need to live in the real world and we need to know the truth about where we stand and what the future probably holds for our situation. I am not talking about turning a deaf ear to reality. I am talking about not allowing yourself to assume the worst is in store for you. Secondly, if your situation demands a change, then you must have the courage to change. As someone has said, it is sometimes better to change ships rather than keep bailing. If your business model has become untenable (such as the dinosaur media) you had better have the courage and wisdom to change.

What say you?

Web 2.0 for Chambers of Commerce

Our Chamber is staying current by helping our members participate in Internet social networking. We have created a North Mason Chamber group at mynorthmasonchamber.com and created a North Mason Chamber group on LinkedIn.

Between the Twitter account, the Chamber's Blog, this blog, and the two new groups, we are doing our best to introduce web 2.0 to our small business members.

What else should we be doing to help our members to be successful and stay current?

Invites to the 325 members will be emailed out very soon so if I am missing something I really need to know it soon.

Twitter a home for Conservatives?

A notice sent out to Chamber of Commerce Executives:

Twitter has a "Top Conservatives on Twitter" group at http://www.topconservativesontwitter.org/ with the feed at http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23TCOT. It is one of their most popular groups.

This is interesting because most of the successful grassroots political Internet sites seem to be progressive/liberal. I know of several conservative sites that are well funded but haven't taken off while similar liberal sites have a loyal and very active following. That is why I was so interested when I noticed Twitter had a large, active, and vocal conservative (read: more business friendly) base.

So, I followed most everyone on their very long TCOT list. This is a national list so it may apply to some chambers more than others. I also followed just about everyone in Washington State that I could find. When you follow, they usually follow back. So, now when I post to twitter with business friendly news or info, I know that hundreds of conservatives and Washingtonians have a chance to act.

I haven't yet taken the leap of using web 2.0 with my members but I am getting very close.

Frank

Thoughts on standing out in a crowd in a web 2.0 world

Want to be a leader? Get a microphone, right?

Even as a little kid I had been contemplating about what it takes to be a recognized leader in a field of endeavor. As a kid, I hadn't yet chosen my field of endeavor, but the question rang in my ears. As a point of reference, I graduated from high school in 1987 (some years before the net took off).

Being an overachiever, or actually the youngest child of parents that celebrated their overachiever kids, I grew up thinking about success and how to achieve it. How to be a leader. At an early age I recognized that leaders invariably ended up in front of the crowd with a microphone. I really wasn't sure if the microphone came first or the recognition, but I couldn't miss the relationship.

Anyway, I knew that I wanted to be a leader and I figured that the surest way to be recognized as one was to speak publicly. I also recognized that most of the leaders I was seeing were authors of books. I concluded at some point that the book came first and then the public speaking followed. Once you had both, you were pretty much on your way to being recognized as a leader and a success. I admitted that one had to have talent and put in a lot of hard work but the path to success required a book and surely required an audience.

Then bam! Web 2.0 comes along

What is the new reality? I am now thinking you can get in front of thousands of people on a daily bases through social networking. The microphone has became optional. It has also occurred to me the book is no longer a necessity. How could this be? Did social networking completely disrupt the old proven path of being recognized as a leader in your industry?

So....I have questions for everybody.

Can one forgo the book? Should they?

Can one become a leader in their field and never step on a stage or write a book now?

Can one, or has anyone, become a leader in their field exclusively through blog posts and social networking?

What does the new social networking reality mean for all of us that want to stand out and make a difference?

A good video on how important it is to make time to do social networking

This video is only 10 minutes. Please take some time to view it. Entrepreneurs really need to make the time to do the social networking.

Social Networking for Chamber of Commerce Members

Everyone,

I plan on introducing our chamber members to web 2.0 very soon. I would wager that less than 10 of our members, out of 300 plus, currently use any of the social networking sites available on the web. I have looked around the web and reached out to my fellow Chambers of Commerce leaders for success stories but have not found a model to base my introduction plans upon.

So, from scratch, here goes nothing.

I appreciate feedback on this plan from other Chambers, Chamber members from other areas, and the general public. Seeing as you are reading a blog, I suspect you will have some first hand knowledge here about social networking and business that will be helpful.

The Plan
(or...how to introduce web 2.0 to busy small business owners who happen to be Chamber members)

I will hold a small class for our members where I will explain the importance and timeliness of getting aboard the social networking train before it completely leaves the station. I will have data on the huge number of users and the strong growth of the sites. And I will explain to them that the Chamber will simplify and speed up the learning process so they can see quick results.

I will explain to the small business owners that they will need to decide and discover how they will individually use web 2.0 to improve their unique business. I will talk about how the local graphic designer can open up her talents to the world market for practically no expense. I will discuss how the local restaurant will be able to create new and deeper relationships with customers and prospective customers. And I will show how the local lawyer will be able to brand herself more widely as an expert in her field by becoming a credible point for information on her area of expertise. I am not sure that I will be able to find a natural fit for all of my members but I suspect that there is one. It shouldn't be too hard to convince this audience of the potential value as everybody in the room will be there because they signed up for the class.

OK. Hopefully by this point I still have the attention of my audience. Maybe no converts yet but no crossed arms either.

My strategy for making my members successful at web 2.0 includes getting them to sign up for 3 services; Twitter, LinkedIn, and a Blog about that members business. I know some of them will, at first, find this challenging, if not daunting. But, I am hoping that by creating a base of the 3 services, and getting that out of the way, they will see quicker results and won't feel it overwhelming to take on the next steps. Like bad medicine, I want them to gulp down the sign up process all at once. Of course, I will make this as simple as I can by sending an email with links to these sites and give them a handy cheat sheet that will walk them through the process of getting signed up and the basics of choosing a user name and such.

In the class, I will explain how each site works and why they need all three. I will instruct them to post a few dozen quick "what are you doing" updates to Twitter over a couple of weeks to seed their timeline. Concurrently, I will have them fill out the LinkedIn questioner and go in search of their personal contacts, many of which will be people in the class and fellow Chamber members. I will also encourage them to post some stories or news items related to their business to their blog.

I will keep track of my students to see how they are coming along and encourage the slow adopters. I will also offer to help them set up their sites if I need to. During the first several weeks, I will encourage each of the students to help populate the other student's blogs with comments. and make sure they are following at least each other on Twitter and LinkedIn. One of the keys for slow adopters is seeing quick results and I should be able to deliver this through the membership.

What better base for web 2.0 success could a group want than Chamber of Commerce membership?

So, now that my first class is off the starting line, how do I make it worthwhile to continue? What are the next steps? What did I forget? If I can show that some of these members are receiving real value ($, relationships that are meaningful), my second class is much more likely to be successful.

Please provide feedback on what you think of my plan and where you think I should take it from there.

Thanks,

Frank

How should people begin to use Twitter?

In answering a question on LinkedIn about how to get started on Twitter, I said:

1) Have them join Twitter and immediately start posting thoughts. They should also link to items of interest. Once they have a few dozen posts, they can then go hunting for connections. If you hunt for connections before you have a base of postings, then invites will not follow.

2) Have the people decide which types of people they want to reach and get to know. As a Chamber exec, I went searching for entrepreneurs. I also love politics and media so those were naturals for me. I found hundreds of these contacts at http://twittgroups.com/index.php.

3) Have the people using Twitter link to their blogs/website. Once relationships are built, your friends will follow invites to the blog.

4) Finally, all of these efforts are circular and should build upon themselves. Have the blog forward people to Twitter and vice-versa. Promote others and they will promote you. With a couple of blogs, a Linkedin account, Twitter, and a bunch of friends, you are sure to climb the social ladder. That leads to sales.

If they are skeptical,have them check out http://twitter.com/Jimconnolly. I bet he gets many calls everyday from prospects because of his blog and the way he uses Twitter.

Hope this helps a little.

Frank

Internet Social Networking

I am becoming a bit of a zealot about this Internet social networking thing.

As I see it, we have an opportunity, as Chambers of Commerce, to take a leadership role and help our members to enjoy the benefits or we can be left by the sidelines wondering why we aren't the "networking" hub anymore.

What do you think?

Chamber Member Deliverable

I have been trying to figure out how I can add value for my chamber members through Twitter. I don't think the members, who really don't even have social networking on their radars yet, will be too receptive about sharing 140 character updates with people all across the country and world. They are much more interested in local customers face to face.

So, I have been doing Twitter searches for Washington State Twitterers. I have found hundreds in the region. I suspect their are many hundreds more, especially in the cities around Seattle.

I am going to pull together this group of Washington based Twitter users and then find a member with a special that I can introduce to my Twitterers. Maybe a travel special or something. If my members phone rings off the hook, or the email vibrates off the desk (?), I will know I have a decent idea. If not, I have met lots of Washingtonian Twitterers.

Plus, I have found lots of useful links. Did you know that the Mariners Twitter?

Frank

Brainstorming ideas for making money through the Internet

Hello everybody,

I have been kicking around various ways of making a profit through the social Internet. I thought I would lay out some of my thoughts and let people respond with their ideas and points of view. By the way, there isn't any kind of sales pitch here. Just thinking out loud.

I know I am risking somebody else getting to market first with these ideas but I am willing to do this because I believe that, like Zig Ziglar, says, "If you help enough people get what they want, you will get everything that you want". The Internet exponentializes that concept (or at least shortens the time frame). Plus, there is nothing new under the sun. I am not too worried that I am the smartest guy in the room.

First, some assumptions to get us started:

• All of these concepts revolve around the opportunities created through the Internet. We are not discussing traditional sources of making profits such as retail or Ebay storefronts, investing, etc....
• We are only discussing legal and honorable ways of earning a profit. Get rich quick scams, hedge fund ponzi schemes involving $50 billion, etc...have no place here.
  
• The ideas should mostly revolve around the growth of the social Internet including but not limited to Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Facebook, blogs, etc...unless you know about something new that we all need to know about.
  

OK. As I see it, and I could be wrong, the following are some of the overriding concepts of monetizing the social Internet.

• Millions of people are on the Internet at any given time looking for value. They may want to be entertained, they may be looking to be educated, they may be doing research, they may be looking to fulfill a need of theirs. etc....
• Having them find your offering, giving it a fair hearing, and then opening their wallets is challenging (to say the least).
  
• People that you have built up a relationship with, Internet based or not, are much more likely to give your offering, no matter it is, a fair hearing.
• If you, the website owner with some kind of offering, have a business model or formula that turns these potential customers into profitable actual customers, then that is a good thing. God Bless America!

So, if you have something of value to offer, and you have been busy creating relationships, people will have access to it either through search engines or your social networking efforts. As I alluded to earlier, those with whom you have a relationship are worth much more than those you happen to find you through other means.

And, one of the best parts, these friends of yours, if they really like you and your offering, they will be motivated to spread the word about your offering. That is where the exponential power of the social Internet really kicks in.

An additional concept (I know this is all very tedious and simple, but please bear with me):

• To me, the Internet is like the worlds largest library and it is overwhelming in size and scope. However, through social networking, you aren't on your own in the library. There can be thousands of friends with you in the library helping you to be entertained, get educated, do research, etc...These helpers are your best prospects to become your customers (monetize your site).

So, given all of this:

Let's assume you have something of value to offer. If you are a marketing wiz (Guy Kawaski, Seth Godin, or Jim Connolly), you have ideas and concepts to share. If you are a programmer, you have tools that are useful, if you are a photographer, you have must-see (and purchase) photos, and if you are a chamber pro, you have your consulting and speaking, etc....ad nauseam.

Consider this:

1. Posting "something of value" on the Internet will be viewed by some large number of people if you have done your homework (thousands of Twitter contacts, hundreds of LinkedIn contacts, friends from various social networking sites, etc...). That is a "given" at this stage of the social Internet if you have put in the time and effort.
2. However, posting that "something of value" really doesn't earn you any money unless you have figured out a way to monetize those eyeballs.

Finally coming to a conclusion here. Thanks for sticking with me.

It seems to me that the following are ways to monetize that traffic. Each have positive and negative attributes.

• You can place advertising on your site (Google Adwords). This can be great if you are attracting lots of traffic and don't mind diluting your personal brand. Jim Connolly chose not to go this route. I Can Has Cheezburger went this way.
  
• You can go the affiliate route (Wikipedia on affiliate marketing). This includes getting a cut from any other business that derive sales from your viewers. Does this work?
  
• You can use your site to build your personal brand so you can sell your services as a consultant (coaching, programming, speaker, etc...) or, like Seth Godin, your own books, tapes, etc...
• Other (this is where you come in. Reply with what you have seen, what you think is coming, or what you are doing). How can we monetize, if we choose to, our social networking success.
  

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your responses. Please include your LinkedIn and Twitter addresses in your responses.

Frank

Chamber idea

I was meeting with the local newspapers ad people today brainstorming on what we could do for our members. Here is an idea that came up that involves social media and web 2.0.

When a member runs an ad in the local paper, the ad rep is going to send me a quick headline that explains the promotion and a link to that member's web page. I will simply cut and past that email into my next eBiz email newsletter and maybe post a twitter message about it.

My member will appreciate that I am multiplying the effectiveness of the printed ad to all of our membership and to the world. The newspaper likes having another tool in their tool box. I like that the member will be told that the chamber is doing something for them (a deliverable).

This idea isn't much work and improves my relationship with the local media and with the member. What do you think?

Opportunity for Washington State

I always try to look at the opportunities that arise from a challenging situation. Usually, the larger the challenge, the larger the opportunity.

Boy, we sure have some opportunities in this state right now.

Just imagine if we can really prioritize government. Not fiddling around the corners but really sink some teeth into this concept of listing government priorities in a very open and public way and only funding the top stuff. Doesn't sound like rocket science but oh so hard to implement when times are good.

A second opportunity is for our state to implement scores of business friendly policies, like research and development tax credits, reducing the burdens of unemployment taxes and L&I, etc... Make us the go-to state when the good times return. Plus, these policies will stimulate the current business economy by saving jobs and increasing employment.

Last of a certainly not complete list, get the transportation and infrastructure bill past. Let's get the transportation network working to move freight and people, get the schools modernized for a changing world, and take care of the water, sewer, and other systems that are becoming decrepit.

These things could have happened during the boom years but they rarely do. Now, let us use the bi-partisan realization that we need a stimulus package, to motivate us to, in essence, do what we should have been doing all along.

WashACE has some info on all of this.

State Stimulus Package

Just read in the Seattle Times that Gregoire may bring a transportation stimulus package out. That would sure help our area, as we have two transportation projects that are either funded or partially funded but are yet to get going. Hopefully, this can get these projects on the fast track.

From the Times: Citing growing unemployment and a shortfall that could top $6 billion in the next two-year state budget, Gregoire said the state's economic recovery hinges on the passage of both national and state stimulus packages.

Sure hope our county and elected officials are working this. Time to make some phone calls.

What to make of this?

A few years back the North Mason/South Kitsap area had a chance to have NASCAR come to town. Our area told them to take their jobs and economic development elsewhere. We had about all the jobs and taxes we needed, thank you very much.

Last year we could have had the largest outdoor theatrical event in Washington State, the Washington State Renaissance Festival, in North Mason. 60,000 people over 3 weekends would have put millions of dollars into the local economy. We handed them their hat and said, "see ya".

Now a hunt club wants to move to Mason County/South Kitsap. Are we going to accept this business or tell them no thanks?

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/dec/05/neighbors-take-shots-at-proposed-gun-club-range/?story_detail_north-mason=1.

Radio Show on KMAS 1030

I do a weekly small business radio show that airs at 8:40 am on KMAS 1030 radio on Tuesdays. Please listen to it if you can.

The topic came up this week about the economy. We made two points that I want to discuss.

The first point was that it is critical to our local economy, and to your local economy, that we all shop locally. Keeping money in the community supports your tax payer paid services, local entrepreneurs, and provides jobs. Please, don't even consider driving to the next city to support their government and small businesses when your own is suffering.

The second point was that the macro economy, the world economy, doesn't matter very much to a small business serving its local market. If a business has a loyal following of clients that have been satisfied in the past and the business continues to offer quality work and a fair price, then the economy as a whole will have little effect.

What do you think?

Trial Balloon?

The Seattle Times wrote an article today that says, oops, we were all mistaken, the State of Washington doesn't need to balance the budget after all. How convenient. Just when we are heading into a 6 billion dollar deficit that would have required the State to live within its, (er...our), means, we no longer have to balance. We can keep spending and just stick the next generation with the bill when the economy booms again. It always does come back, right?

Next, we will be taking the general fund to the casino because there is no specific rule against that either, I'll wager.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008480910_budget08m.html

Chamber exec group on Twitter

Are you a chamber executive? Do you use Twitter yet? Check out our group.


http://twittgroups.com/group/cocleaders

Cool Pic

One of my interests is astronomy. Check out this cool pic from NASA.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0703/3772-84mcnaught_druckmuller.jpg

Have you heard about this?

I was reading about a new trend in social networking (web 2.0). People with medical issues are networking with each other, sharing medical records and experiences. The old model was for each person to separately rely on their doctor for everything. Now, with medical 2.0 (my words) people can do their own research along with people going through the same thing.

You may want to share this with others who may be needing a new hope.

http://www.patientslikeme.com/

Is blogging lobbying?

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/558336.html

Looks like there are some people concerned that having an opinion or call to action on a blog equates to lobbying. I sure hope we don't all have to go through PDC training.

Kathy Haigh

One of our 35th district representatives has been appointed to an important committee as the chair. Check it out.

http://www.theolympian.com/118/story/686982.html

I am not sure yet what committees Fred Finn is going to be on.

Have you heard?

Local Retirement

I have always gotten along with Ken. I know the Port will miss him.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/dec/04/attebery-to-retire-as-port-of-bremerton-ceo/

Updating

Check out the North Mason Chamber Blog

Please let me know what you think of the site and the blog.

New Chamber Centric Blog Starting

http://fastchamber.ning.com/

Check it out

Long Weekend

I don't remember the last time I spent 4 days away from work. And guess what I did? I spent 4 days getting up to speed on social networking. I have been trying to stay somewhat up to speed on the various networking sites but I really needed these 4 days to bring it all together.

Now I have my LinkedIn account all set up, this blog, my Twitter account, and the North Mason Chamber's blog all functioning in concert.

This web 2.0 stuff is massive and only getting bigger. I suggest you get aboard or get left behind.

Washington CEO

This magazine is one of my favorites. It has been sold though and I am not too happy to lose this valuable resource.

Pick it up at the news stands if you can. The website has been moved to the acquiring company at SITE

In the latest issue they cover a new community infrastructure financing tool and green-tech venture capital issues.

Update on Belfair

In case you were wondering here are the current numbers on the Highway 3 improvement project.

http://www.transinfo.state.wa.us/Projects/frmProjectDetail.asp?projectdescid=15019578

Yippie, here is another white paper

If you really want to know what you are talking about when discussing politics and policy, a great place to start is by reading the white papers from the WashACE site.

This one is on the the Washington State budget. I have to admit I am still confused but I suspect that only a few people in the state have a complete grasp of every detail of our massive budget.

$5.1 Billion in the hole. Are we in trouble? Will we raise taxes? We will use POG?

Cost of Business in Washington State

I have been trying to wrap my mind around the reasons that Washington State is so often called a bad place to do business. I knew wage costs were a problem but I didn't know specifically why.

This great white paper explains it.

http://awbblog.typepad.com/files/keeping-a-lid-on-labor-costs-11-08.pdf

What does this mean for our long-term competitiveness?

If you had an option of where to build a plant that would employ 100 people, would you choose Washington State?

Hat tip http://www.washace.com/

Chamber Growth

I am hearing some chambers complain about losing membership. I thought I would mention that our chamber is growing. Our chamber has grown more than 45% this year for the following reasons:

• Business owners that didn't need the networking and adverting when the economy was booming are approaching us and saying they are having to work extra hard to stay busy.

• We hired a part-time sales and marketing person.

• We hadn't focused too much on membership development so their was some low hanging fruit.

• We have a terrific board that is really focused on deliverables for the members.

• Our area is primed for economic growth.

• We send out press releases regularly and they are usually picked up by at least one local paper.

• Our dues are reasonable.

Check out www.northmasonchamber.com

Opportunity

This economic crises we are going through will create opportunities.

One opportunity will be for the nation to move towards more Government control of the economy. The Government may decide which business plans are viable. Which industries are worthy and which are not. The Gov't will "provide" the jobs. Most of us will either have Gov't jobs or wished we did.

Another opportunity will be for the Government to help entrepreneurs start and grow new businesses. This, of course, will create new jobs and prosperity but some will be more prosperous than others.

For me the choice is clear.

For you?

Interesting Issue

Have you given this any thought? This is for the State of Washington which has a growth management act.

• Belfair and Allyn are "free standing UGAs". This means that they are urban growth areas that aren't physically attached to any city that could annex them.
• Belfair and Allyn and very Rural but they are designated for Urban levels of growth.
• The Growth Management Act has goals for UGAs that include encouraging affordable housing and encouraging sustainable economic development.
  
• Another goal is to protect the environment in the Rural areas.
• Belfair and Allyn are in a catch-22 in that we all want to see the new population moving into Mason County living in the UGAs so that the Rural areas of the Hood Canal and Mason Lake, for instance, retain their rural character. However, no one ever moved to Mason County to live in the city!
  
• Belfair has plenty of buildable land but it lacks road infrastructure.
• County road funds are designated for Rural areas.
• Since the UGA isn't a place that people want to live in, then they will move into the rural areas.
  

What else?

Recommended Links

Here are some of my favorite sites. Check them out. Bookmark them!

• WashACE- The Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy - working to build economic opportunity.

• The Big Picture

• Sound Politics - Sound Commentary on Current Events in Seattle, Puget Sound and Washington State

• http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/

• http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/news-forum/index

• http://orbusmax.com/

• http://www.northmasonchamber.com/

• Olympia Business Watch - The Association of Washington Business blog reviewing the news and events shaping business and politics.

• West Sound Politics - A Commentary on Political, Business, Social, and Other Topics of Interest in the Western Puget Sound Region

• Greg Mankiw's Blog - Random Observations for Students of Economics

• http://www.explorehoodcanal.com

• http://therealstateofrealestate.com/

More to come....

Washington State 2009 Legislative Session

I am gearing up for a very tough session. With the budget deficit projected to be approaching 5 billion for the next biennium, it seems very likely to me that business taxes and fees will be on the table. We really put ourselves into a fix by increasing the state budget when times were great and now that things are in the tank, legislators are going to be scrambling to find enough cuts to balance the budget. I am not sure it can be done with just cuts.

The reality is, in my opinion, that tax increases will just make the problem worse.

What do you think?

Kick-off post

Hello everyone. This is the obligatory welcome post that almost all websites and blogs are guilty of posting. Each one of us know it is a mistake to create a welcome post but, just like in public speaking where you thank the audience first to build rapport, bloggers seem to feel the need to welcome the world with a first posting.

As if the world was rushing to the door to read this.....

That being said, this is what my blog will be partially about:

• Advocating for Small Business
  
• Washington State Politics
• Chambers of Commerce
• Entrepreneurship
• Economics/Investing
• Western Washington News
• National News
• Government Policy that affects Business
• The Media
• Social and Business Internet Networking - Web 2.0
  
• Land Use Policies - Infrastructure, Housing, UGAs, GMA
• World History
• Astronomy
• Guy stuff like Cigars, Poker, and Fine Whisky
• Etc.....