It’s 11:11:11 on 11/11/11 What Are You Doing?

It’s 11:11:11 p.m. on 11/11/11 and I’m doing something that’s either pathetic or crazy to celebrate – posting a blog!

This late on the last business day of an active week if you were monitoring the Social Media seismograph. The needles were scraping wildly. (YES this device exists and access to it is the only reason I think Marc brought me on board. Leslie just stares at it for hours).

The new activity tab can be found here

Until five days ago there was little reason to join Google’s THIRD attempt at a social media network – Google+ . Unless of course you work at Google because it was looking like a pretty snazzy Intranet. But then Google gave us “pages” which allowed non-humans such as Coca-Cola, Ford or dgs Marketing Engineers to exist in the network.

While Google may not be the master of Social Media, it is the master of Search. And with firms like Slingshot SEO and “Searchiratti” blogs chirping that Google will be pushing Google+ results in search returns, it seems wise to plant your brand flag there.

This could be especially good news for the Dr. Peppers of the world who will never have the resources of the Cokes. With careful study, maybe they can stop running up an impossible ladder to join Coca-Cola atop search results like “Yummy Beverage” and fire a grappling hook to get up there instead.

One thing I can say unequivocally: I went from ignoring to loving Google+ in 10 minutes when I saw how robust the brand pages can be.

Not to be outdone, Twitter sped up its launch of a new “Activity” tab. This is a summary of what your followers are doing on the network. It’s the good, the bad, the ugly and, yes, the unexpected. I raised an eyebrow in judgment of a buddy who followed several Britney Spears fanboys within 36 seconds.

OK maybe this is insightful information, but that doesn’t mean I want to know. Will the twitter “activity” tab be the Upton Sinclair of Social Media? Who knows? What do you think?

In the meantime . . . welcome to the jungle.

A Potentially Premature Look at the Year in Music

by Jim May

I was kicking around half a dozen or so ideas for this week’s blog and it’s one of those days where all of the topics I could think of either seemed boring or would require a depth of research, consideration and time that my current schedule refuses to afford.

I started scrolling back through past entries to see if the inspiration bug might bite and discovered that it was just over a year ago that I did a piece on my love of music, including my top 10 albums for the year. A lifelong sucker for annual traditions, I knew what to post. Like last year, I’m starting with the current number 10, but am going to stop at 6 and save the top 5 for future. entry. Enjoy.

10. Wilco – “Art of Almost” from The Whole Love

I’ve never been able to get into Wilco, despite how much I enjoyed the band that kind-of, sort-of spawned them, Uncle Tupelo. I usually pick up their albums, listen to them once or twice and wonder what friends hear that I’m missing. Not so with The Whole Love. “Art of Almost” is the first track on the album and hooked me from the start. The first four minutes almost feel like Zooropa/Pop-era U2, and then things pause and the song shifts into a rocking little instrumental to close things out.

9. Glasvegas – “Whatever Hurts You Through The Night” from Euphoric Heartbreak

While Borders going out of business was a bit melancholic, it offered a great opportunity to cheaply pick up a bunch of music on a whim. I’d heard of Glasvegas, but knew nothing about them when I picked up their album based solely on it’s cover art catching my eye. I’m glad I did, as it’s a great album that’s even better if you award bonus points for them mostly keeping their Scottish accent in the vocals.

8. The Vaccines – “Wesuit” from What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

This is the first year I really started paying to Amazon’s daily recommendations that are based on the purchasing behavior of its customer base. The Vaccines showed up a dozen or so times before I finally clicked through and listed to a couple samples. They have a great sound that often sounds like modern music applied to song structures more common in the late 50′s.

7. Foo Fighters – “Walk” from Wasting Light

I’ve never had a problem with Foo Fighters, but I’ve also never been a huge fan. They’re the kind of band that I always liked a couple songs, but never enough to get me to buy an album. The heavy attention Wasting Light received got me to pick it up to have something new to listen to on a trip I was leaving for when it came out. Just a great, straightforward rock record.

6. The Dodos – “Companions” from No Color

Another recurring Amazon recommendation that got me to pull the trigger. Catchy songs with beautiful acoustic guitar throughout.

Alright, that’s it for now. I’ll try to get the final 5 up in the next week or two. Hope at least one of the above got you to check out a new album!

Reports of Manufacturing’s Death Were Greatly Exaggerated

My name is Mike Magan, dgs’ digital communications strategist and newest team member. I joined the staff here last week and by my third day on the job, was wandering and wondering through the cavernous National Technology Center at Mazak’s Tomorrow’s Technology Today (T3) Event.

Optimism and interest abound at T3

I had the opportunity to snap some photos, shoot some HD video and make eye contact with many of the people and products dgs represents. And although my introduction to machining and manufacturing occurred 15 years ago, I walked the floor in Florence like Dorothy in Oz. (Okay, maybe more like the Cowardly Lion since I’m a guy, a little overweight and I recoiled in fear at the sight of flying metal pieces.)

I had forgotten that there were thousands of different ways to cut or grind perfectly good hunks of metal. And this wasn’t just the kind of metal that wraps my Diet Coke; it was highly-compact, super-strong stuff! I saw some variations of titanium I thought only existed on fighter jets or Optimus Prime.

I upgraded my personal database BIG TIME that day – and my hard drive still has a lot to download. But I’d like to share with you one thing that caught my attention from the get-go and I’ve been rebooting in my processor ever since . . . the manufacturing industry is alive and well!

That may not be news to you, but I represent John Q. Public. And until recently, I forged my view of the industry from what I read in the mainstream media. Unfortunately, they typecast Manufacturing as a failure back in the 1970s. “Jobs are going overseas,” “Workers are in a slump,” “Violent union strikes against greedy CEOs” Are these headlines you saw 30 years ago or 30 days ago?

The answer is “yes.”

While there might be a nugget of truth in those stories, the mainstream media needs to pull its head out of the past. It’s time for a new narrative because it was clear to me they are not reporting the obvious storyline evident at Mazak and other planets in the Manufacturing solar system: the manufacturing industry has reinvented itself into a lean, mean, high-tech machine. I talked to CEOs who said jobs are coming back HERE because there’s a growing knowledge gap between China and US workers. I talked to blue-collar workers laboring through their lunch hour on new orders who had been hired in the last year and were bullish about the industry’s – and their own – future.

Economists and Washington policymakers look to the health of the manufacturing sector as an indicator of the health of the overall economy. If the mainstream media would cover the industry as accurately as their counterparts in the trade press, maybe the economic outlook of John Q. Public – and our entire economy – would brighten up too.

What is PR, Exactly?

By Sarah Knight, Copywriter

I have been working in a public relations capacity for more than 10 years, and I am always fascinated to hear how people perceive the profession. Some think it is just about schmoozing, while others think it is just churning out press releases. But nothing bothers me more than when people think it is just a fancier way of saying customer service.

While studying public relations in college, I worked for a temp agency where I’d interview applicants who listed public relations as a skill set on their resume. When I would ask them to elaborate on this qualification, they would say, “I have a knack for working with people.”

This response irritated me because I knew all the painstaking hours I was putting into my studies, and it involved a heck of a lot more than just having a “knack for working with people.” I was performing communication audits, composing company mission statements, getting articles published in the local paper and much more.

Public relations is about shaping and maintaining the image of a company in the eyes of its various “publics,” which is anyone who ever has or ever will form an opinion about that company. In fact, an organization’s reputation, profitability and continued existence can depend on the degree to which its targeted public supports its goals and policies.

When you’re in public relations you have to understand the interests and concerns of your client’s publics and how to best address those topics.

Publicity is one of the best ways to reach out to your publics and it can take many forms: from articles in trade publications to employee newsletters to press conferences for new product launches to winning industry accolades to effective social media campaigns to answering tough questions on TV news programs.

To this day, I still find people who have a misperception of public relations. They understand pieces and parts of the job, but fail to realize the bigger picture of the profession. And while this lack of understanding really bothered me in college, these days I spend less time worrying about the misguided and focus heavily on creating positive results for dgs clients.

Marketing vs. Selling

by Marc Diebold, President & CEO

A headline caught my attention the other day. It was from an article by a consulting firm I follow. It read, “Why you should stop selling your firm and start marketing it.” This really hit home for me, because it’s exactly what we’ve been doing the past couple years here at dgs, and it’s really paid off, not only in terms of growth, but also in terms of focus and direction. In our case, what we’re really good at is developing and executing marketing communications strategies for companies that sell a complex product to a technically minded person like an engineer, scientist, or other ‘process-oriented’ individual. Modesty aside, we truly believe we have deep expertise in this area, and, equally important, have a lot of passion for what we do. So, instead of reaching out to a broad range of business-to-business marketers, only some of which fit this profile, we focus our marketing efforts on the types of companies we can help most. In doing so, we can take a more consultative (marketing) approach and tone with our communications instead of an advertising (selling) approach that seems to be so common in our industry. It’s quite a relief actually, because none of us at dgs has the personality profile of a salesperson. We’d much rather listen and learn about the marketing challenges a prospect has, then talk to them about our experience with companies in the same or similar industries, instead of trying to ‘sell’ them by showing them a bunch of PowerPoint slides describing our history and capabilities.

How and Why to Blog

by Amanda Borshoff, Account Coordinator

Someone recently asked me, “Why should I blog?”

The short answer: Blogging increases SEO (search engine optimization), which means your blog will show up at the top of the list in search engines such as Google.

The long answer: Blogging is a great way to communicate to the next generation of buyers/clients/staff, and it creates a platform for open discussion. It’s also a great way for free publicity. And…it positions you and your company as a thought leader on the subject.

Now…”How to blog.” Blogging may seem daunting to first-time bloggers; in reality it’s as easy as writing an email or having a conversation with someone.

The key to blogging is blog about what you know.

Start thinking about your interactions and experiences during a typical day/week/month. Ask yourself, “what did I learn?” and “Is this worth sharing?” If so, write a blog…Blogs are meant to be short and sweet. They are a way to easily share a small bit of information with the masses.

And, if you have questions or need help getting started, there’s always marketers and agencies out there to help…just ask me.

Change Can Be Invigorating

By Mimi Brodt

If there’s one thing we can count on here in Indiana, it’s the change of seasons.  Last week there was certainly a chill in the air with temperatures running quite a bit below average for this time of year.  Sometimes when the cold and dreary weather starts to set in, I ask myself why I live here.  With all the beautiful and interesting places in this country—places with mountains, oceans, or even both—why here, in flat, landlocked Indiana?

Besides the fact that most of my family lives in the state, I can’t imagine living someplace without a change of seasons.  San Diego is great, with its consistently sunny days in the 70s, but honestly I think I would tire of that perfect weather after awhile. I would miss the change to something different.  After all, I’m just as excited to see the first snowflake each November as I am to see the first daffodil pop up in March.  Each season brings something new. It keeps things fresh, and keeps me looking forward.

Companies also need to keep things fresh.  While there’s indisputable value in having a consistent message, there are always new ways to communicate that message to target audiences.  For example, many companies attend the same trade shows each and every year.  Like clockwork, they plan booth graphics, determine what products they’ll showcase, and plan meetings and social gatherings with customers and the media.  At DGS we make it a priority to find new opportunities for our clients to present their messages in different ways—maybe it’s a new speaking or sponsorship opportunity, or a new idea for marketing to guests in their hotel rooms.  The point is: keep it fresh. You might be surprised at how invigorating change can be.

Time For EMO

By Chuck Bates, Public Relations Director

EMO 2011, Exposition Mondiale de la Machine Outil (Machine Tool World Exposition) and one of the manufacturing industry’s largest tradeshows, will take place next week (September 19 – 24) in Hannover, Germany.

Approximately 2,000 companies from over 40 countries will be showcasing a wide range of products and services for the metalworking industry. And with more U.S. manufacturing companies going global, EMO will have about 57 U.S. manufacturing equipment suppliers exhibiting.

At EMO 2007, the lion’s share of overseas visitors were from India and the United States. And EMO officials expect that to hold true for this year’s show as well.

I will be attending EMO this year to coordinate metalworking trade press editor visits to the booths of my clients exhibiting at the show. Practically all of these editors are from U.S. publications, most of which have also gone global, publishing versions of their manufacturing-focused magazines in several foreign countries.

Can Rebranding Save a Hit Comedy Show?

By Sarah Knight, Copywriter

Within the next few weeks the fall television season will begin, and I must say I am concerned about the fate of Two and a Half Men, one of my all-time favorite shows. After all, actor Charlie Sheen, the sitcom’s main character, found himself ousted from the show last season for his drug use and making disparaging comments about the show’s creator and executive producer.

The good news is rather than giving up on what The New York Times has called “the biggest hit comedy of the past decade,” the creator of Men, Chuck Lorre, has put the show through what I would call a “rebrand” rather than a spin-off. With the original plot gone awry due to Sheen’s unprofessional departure, Lorre and his staff have had no choice but to revamp the series and communicate a differentiated message to viewers. And if not done correctly, the hit show, which was original launched in 2003, will lose current fans and fail to attract enough new viewers to sustain it.

If you’re unfamiliar with the show, the original premise revolved around a hedonistic, freewheeling jingle writer, Charlie Harper (Sheen), whose life gets complicated when his uptight, divorced brother, Alan (Jon Cryer), and Alan’s growing, underachieving son, Jake (Angus T. Jones), move into his Malibu home.

As the show heads into its ninth season this month, Ashton Kutcher will replace Sheen as the show’s leading man. From what I’ve read, the Sheen character will be killed off and Kutcher’s character, Walden Schmidt, will play a divorcee who becomes roommates with Alan and Jake, and they all three find a way to cope with their losses.

Given that my profession has always revolved around marketing and communications, and DGS specializes in branding, I am curious to see what Lorre and his team have in store for us. All I know is that if the rebrand is going to be successful, they need to convincingly prove that Sheen was not the end-all, be-all of the show. It will also help if viewers are willing to move away from the Men they’ve always known and accept a fresh perspective, which I’m guessing isn’t a problem given Sheen’s bizarre, narcissistic behavior following his dismissal from the show.

However, putting the wrong person “in charge” can really hurt the rebranding process. And with Ashton Kutcher at the helm, I am a little nervous. Although I’ll admit I don’t have anything solid to attribute my angst to other than the fact that Kutcher’s marriage to Demi Moore annoys me. I will give him kudos though for not professing his love for her by strangely jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch.

When it comes to Kutcher, I am obviously the minority because this model-turned-actor was the first Twitter user to have more than 1 million followers. Perhaps this fact helped him land the leading role at Men? Because I’m quite sure his performance in Dude Where’s My Car did not.

Despite my trivial annoyance with Kutcher, I want the show to succeed. I love Jon Cryer’s character and can’t take another mindless reality show where living in Jersey and following the mantra “Gym, Tan, Laundry” is the key to achieving maximum potential everyday. Therefore, I plan on open-mindedly giving Kutcher a chance when the new season of Two and a Half Men airs on September 19.

300 and counting

Early last month I made my 300^th connection on LinkedIn. In the off chance that you’re one of the few holdouts when it comes to engaging yourself with business-related social media and have never heard of LinkedIn, it is the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with, as of August 4, 2011, the very day I hit 300 connections, 120 million members in over 300 countries.

Considering I’ve tried to be somewhat careful about accepting invitations to connect with people, particularly people I did not have a directly relationship with, I have to tell you I was taken aback when I saw I had hit 300 connections. Admittedly, it took a little prodding for me to even get started with LinkedIn (and all the other social media for that matter) because I wasn’t convinced about the return on time investment compared to other networking activities I was involved with. When I did finally take the plunge in November of 2007 (LinkedIn launched in 2003), I had fairly low expectations, but had come to the conclusion it was important for me to have a presence there. Since then, though, I have been pleasantly surprised at what a great resource LinkedIn is, and how many people I interact with (senior and executive-level folks in their late 40’s to early 60’s included) are actively using it. In addition to my now 313 individual connections, I am currently a member of 24 groups on LinkedIn, most of which are related to our client’s industry or target markets. My LinkedIn ‘stats’ aren’t going to impress some people, but for me it feels good to get to this level. I welcome you comments.