Posts tagged ‘Boston’

For many weeks, I have been biting my tongue whenever I remembered the crime scene. I had walked into the Natick Mall Sears to participate in what I expected would be a busy 3-ring circus. Why the expectation? Lands End was hosting two of the knitting world’s rockstars, Kate Jacobs and Vickie Howell, in an event to knit hats for the homeless. Since the e-mail I received about this event was very last minute, I was worried that I would be lost in the crowd of fans. Instead I was in a front row seat to witness Lands End’s failure to reach a highly sought audience for their targeted goal of 250000 knitted hats.

With today’s fluctuating economy, savvy businesses utilize social media tools to increase their customer base. Being active in the realm of weblogs, podcasts, and online networks have enabled these businesses to advertise their products and services. For specific niche markets, narrowing the target to reach a solid customer base is a must to reaping high ROI. Lands End’s charity drive stop in Massachusetts is an example of how not to use social media.

In chatting with Kate, Vickie, and the woman who represented Lands End’s charity drive, I discovered a few keys affecting the low turnout of knitters (about a dozen at most) who appeared:

- The lack of utilizing Ravelry – a worldwide social network for knitters, crocheters, and weavers.
It seems that a particular publishing company dislikes its knitting authors to be on Ravelry. This publishing company feels that the authors would be wasting time and should be writing books, even if there is a group dedicated to specific authors. Because of this break in communication between the author and the readers, the author has no way of announcing appearances or news. Lands End had also contacted the owners of Ravelry to promote their charity. Unfortunately, it would not be feasible nor fair to the hundreds of charities that other Ravelry members promote themselves (mine happens to be Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue). If protocol were followed, the suggestion that Lands End sign up for a Ravelry account would have been made so as a member, Lands End could easily promote themselves by creating their own group or contacting the local groups where their charity drives would be visiting. From my last check, Lands End did not follow that suggestion.

- Publicizing to a group located nowhere near the scheduled events.
Where the events were located is over an hour’s drive from the group base. The Greater Boston Knitting Guild meets in Boston. The events were at Burlington, MA and Natick, MA. Both areas require a long bit of driving, and do not allow easy public transportation. Since only that Boston guild was contacted, only one other guild was shared that news, the MetroWest Guild of which I am a member. How I had learned of the events was through a last-minute e-mail sent a couple of nights before the scheduled dates. It was sent as an “FYI, in case you are interested” type of feel. There was no “Wow! Come help Kate and Vickie knit hats for charity”" excitement. The small amount of notice made it difficult for many to plan on attending. Another note is that Lands End stated they had sent newsletters to its customers asking of any of them knitted to come and participate in the events. I quizzed a number of Massachusetts residents afterwards and not one received such news. Many of them were unhappy at missing the opportunity.

- Ignoring the power of local popular figures and specialty shops to promote the events.
Every town and city has their own respected community rockstars. They are many in New England, particularly Massachusetts, for the knitting world. Designer Kristin Nicholas, Julia Farwell-Clay of Twist Collective, Pam Allen of Classic Elite, Kathy and Steve Elkins of WEBS, Guido Stein of “It’s a Purl, Man” – these folks are just the tip of the iceberg. With the location of the scheduled events, it would have been more lucrative to include nearby New Hampshire and Rhode Island. This fibery network of community rockstars do connect with one another, and could have helped Lands End promote the charity events. By not including the local yarn shops and stores, Lands End failed to spread the word effectively, particularly in the locations where the events were scheduled.

I sometimes find myself reflecting on that Saturday when I met the small quiet crowd who came to the event. I always end up shaking my head in disbelief on the lack of the numbers that could have been. Since that day, I noticed that Kate is now on Twitter (another network she was told not to participate), and I wonder if it is really her or her publisher. (Update 2009-11-19: I was informed that it definitely is not her publisher, but I still think that the Tweets sound like hollow marketing.) I am just glad that Vickie is the real deal online, and that contacting her results in genuine responses. =:8

On the clear Thursday night of September 17th, I attended what could be described as three hours of brain teasing at Boston’s Stone & Webster Building on the fourteenth floor of 245 Summer Street. This “Ignite Boston” event was sponsored by O’Reilly Publishing and Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (known in many circles as FCAT). The format of presentations applied the rule of so many slides at so many seconds each was a challenge that every presenter took with ease and polish. Here are a few highlights that caught my attention.

• Opening speaker Glenn Ezra (a professor from MIT) discussed Jane Jacobs’ book “The Failure of City Planning.” He described how in larger societies, a small council of folks still control which resources people accessed in the communities, towns, and cities. There was one quote which stuck in my head: “Specialists don’t know; the PEOPLE know.” Methinks the people need to help President Obama pass the health care reform.
• Clay Ward spoke about his Procrasdonate company, which turns the free time spent at work for browsing about on the internet into donated money for charity. This company definitely piqued my interested for Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue
• Josh Robins had me as soon as he brought up the words “shared data” into the presentation. The fact that Massachusetts Department of Transportation was offering up their information for others to use in their programs shows foresight into the future.
• Dan Keldsen brought up the point that I have always believed: using the correct tools allows innovation, creativity, and workability. In my respect tools are not only something physical to hold in the hands, but giving the knowledge to those in need of it is detrimental in the workplace.
• Jeff Potter presented his upcoming book “Cooking for Geeks” in which he demonstrated how each of us varies from being a super-taster to a non-taster thanks to our genetics.

(sigh) So many presenters, so little time… Besides seeing my friend Guido Stein of “It’s a Purl, Man” fame, I met the interesting Wendy Walsh who is part of the Women Geeks of Boston. We were sitting next to each other during the speed technology dating spree. It turns out that she is a web developer and we definitely enjoyed discussing our love for technology. Here’s hoping we see each other soon! =:8

Like everyone in the world, I have many faces and hats. I began blogging years ago on LiveJournal to keep a personal diary, and still use it to catch up on various groups of interest. I have such a gamut of loves: Classic Ford Mustangs, surfing, rugby, MLB baseball, American football, automobile racing, house rabbits, knitting/crocheting, information technology, 3-phase electricity, working out, food, and wine. The last three are intricately linked because of my Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. I have been fortunate to learn a great deal about my loves after being “tossed into the deep end” of discovery. My passion allowed the knowledge to sink into my head, and I have been able to use that knowledge accordingly when needed. There is always one exception. In my case I have two: the worlds of IT and 3-phase.

The lack of paper credentials to support all that tucked away knowledge has been a thorn in my side. In today’s job market, those credentials matter to a company’s human resources department. The problem is larger for me: I have never tested well on exams after high school. I managed with difficulty to acquire the college credits that I have now, but still am a year’s shy of graduating after leaving school 15 years ago. Some years ago, I discovered my niece had a similar problem with her studies, and I realized with relief that our struggles were from a learning disability of digesting what we studied aurally. Unless we wrote down a lecture word-for-word or took incredible notes, the spoken information never sank into our minds unless we were extremely focused on the subject matter. It also explained why my brain readily discarded information I was no longer using on a daily basis — my interest for the topic in question was gone.

Recently the challenge of becoming a Certified IS Auditor (CISA) was presented to me, and after a bit of thought I accepted it. In order to ensure I do not have to repeat this pricey test in June 2010, I have been kicking around different approaches on how to be comfortably embedded with the material for December’s exam. My “aha moment” hit: blog about it. By doing so, I will be confirming that I had grasped the concepts. I would also be reviewing what I learned in a form of a presentation, and would be able to discuss the details with others.

So why all of this information? One item I learned at Podcamp was that whiplashes of topic changes can freak out a reader. Until I revamp this little website into the envisioned sections that I want to incorporate, I want to warn everybunny of my plan to post the CISA entries. Meanwhile, I do plan on re-starting my diary of fibery visits, and am looking forward to the Fiber Revival in Newbury, MA (which is run by the talented and amazing Julia from “Moth Heaven” and Twist Collective fame) tomorrow. I also will be topping the day with a visit to Joppa Fine Foods to get some Jeni’s Ice Cream. As for Sunday, I am going to sneak a peek of the “Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice,” exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Feel free to come join me! =:8