At Least For One Extrovert, the Quake Was Earth Shaking

Copy Extrovert, Jamie Silverman reflects on the Great East Coast Quake of 2011. Just as I discovered in Rome back in 2009, the first real reverberations were felt online.

-Mark

Technical prowess, digital capability and Internet advancement have changed the way we experience and share news with one another. In olden days, people would sit down with a newspaper to learn the latest goings on (okay, so this is one trend that's still hanging by a thread for the moment – you get the point). But seriously, way back when, a man arriving on horseback shouting about what was going on over yonder in the next town used to be the expected mode of getting news. Word from abroad took weeks to arrive. Fast forward a few hundred years and we are receiving news updates up to the second. 

Why my current obsession with the news? Because of Tuesday's earthquake, that’s why. 

While sitting at my desk in the corner of the Extrovertic office, I felt the ground shake. I looked up and asked my coworkers if they felt anything. Once the tremors stopped, we all wanted to know if we truly had felt an earthquake or if it was all our imagination. So everyone tuned in to the local news websites.

I on the other hand, logged on to Facebook and Twitter.

Within minutes, I had received confirmation from the social-media sphere, that we had in fact experienced an earthquake of a 5.9 magnitude. Some of my favorite posts:

Credibility be damned, my first inclination was not to check out the New York Times or CNN.com, but rather to assume that the tweeters of the world would be the best source of information.

Though I do think Twitter, Facebook and the like are great sources of information, I have to wonder if it’s sort of a modern-day Wikipedia. Chock full of information, some of it credible, some not, all requiring an open mind and critical eye upon reading.

What do you think?

-Jamie

 

Social Media Overload?

Goodwizz. Facebook. Match.com. SocialOomph. LinkedIn. Twitter. PlentyofFish. Flickr. Buffer. Meetup. Yackit. And on the list goes.

Some of these names, you might recognize. Others, you probably don’t.

All of them are various iterations of social networking sites; a phenomenon of the last ten years or so, that has changed the way we interact with one another.

When it comes to social networking, the list of viable tools is endless. Whether you are interested in finding someone who shares your passion of small dogs or jade plants, future husbands, job opportunities or frustrations with parking spots in New York City, you can log on, sign in and find someone who fits the bill.

For some, these endless opportunities to meet and interact with people is highly enticing. For others, completely and utterly overwhelming.

Which is the right site for you? How can you work a job, have a family and friends, and simultaneously be expected to be ridiculously plugged in?

In a recent NY Times article about strategizing for those people who are “digitally fatigued,” it was reported that one in every four-and-a-half minutes spent on the Web is spent on a social networking site or blog.

So what’s the answer: Should you log in more? Less? Find new sites? Stick with the old ones?

As suggested by the article, one solution is find one or two sites that really work for you and stick with them.  For the socialites, perhaps Facebook is your best bet. Looking for job opportunities? Join LinkedIn.

Or maybe the choice is to rotate your networking sites. Join Yackit discussions for the first half of the year and then begin tweeting in the second half.

With so many choices, the possibilities are endless. All you have to do is find your personal networking groove.

-Jamie

 

Twitter Cuts To the Truth

It's Sunday, July 3rd. It's pouring outside.

I had to go into the office for a while yesterday, so I feel no remorse in dedicating today to complete rest and relaxation.

Djokovic has just won the Wimbledon title, so I pick up the remote and start channel surfing.

I land at MSNBC and find myself transfixed on something I had vowed never to follow: the Casey Anthony murder trial. But not just any day of the trial –  the closing arguments. 

I miss the prosecution's argument, but catch defense attorney, José Baez, as he tries to raise reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.

He mentions garbage that had been left to rot in the trunk of Anthony's car, possibly creating the "smell of death" that the prosecution has made a focal point of their case. He says the trash left in the trunk included cheese.

Then, he says something that blows my mind.

In wrapping up the defense argument in a trial in which his client may face the death penalty if she's found guilty of the gruesome murder of her child, Baez says to the jury, and I quote:

"They want you to know who cut the cheese."

My jaw dropped. I have no idea what his intent was. Was he trying to use humor to break the tension in the room? Did he not realize that this phrase is used as a euphemism for something else?

I don't know. 

So I do what I've done for a few years now, whenever I want an instantaneous snapshot of people's reactions to something I've just seen or heard:

I search Twitter. 

I find that I'm far from alone in my shock and disdain. Twitter is such an amazing tool for reading the mind of America.

Apparently, the mind of America considers Baez a tool, too. 

-Mark 

 

Extrovertic Has Gone to the Dogs

Those who have been up to the 7th floor of our West 20th St. office in New York City will attest to the fact that space has gotten a little precious these days.

We've been growing rapidly to such an extent that we've had to take additional space on two other floors at that address as well as in an office on West 19th St.

The good news is that construction of our big, beautiful, brand new office at 30 West 21st St. will be completed within the next month, and all of the NYC Extroverts will soon be under one roof. 

So what does an agency short for space do to boost the morale of its people?

Bring in more bodies!

Not human bodies; canine ones.

In support of  Bide A Wee and Pet Sitters International, we invited our employees to bring in their 4-legged family members for not just one, but two days of togetherness. First on Tuesday, and then again on Friday, the official national Take Your Dog to Work Day.

I have to admit, the presence of these pooches in our office really did have a great effect on the environment. I think our collective blood pressure was probably brought down quite a bit.

For the most part, everyone got along fabulously. (Harley Reilly and Lily Wetzel-Sugarman did have to be kept apart for a while.) 

Herman Drossman and Sally Shechtman were both pretty laid back, while young Luna Merino (in her best little skirt) is still not quite office-broken. Cassie Graff was very well-behaved during her short visit.

Speaking of visits, on Friday, we were graced with the presence of Dr. Robert Gordon, director of the Oakland Animal Hospital in Oakland, NJ.

Dr. Gordon spoke to us about the human-pet bond, which is something in which we at Extrovertic have a particular interest.

As our name suggests, everything we do is about improving the bond between various parties– patient and brand, patient and doctor, patient and caregiver, and now pets and the people who love them.

And in the process, Extrovertic and Extroverts. 

-Mark 

 

Regardless of What You Call the Business, It's Evolving

Interactive Marketing Trends

What an amazing time it is to be in the healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

Every day brings new challenges. New solutions. New technologies. New surprises. New potential. New growth.

This is not your father's healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

It's certainly not the world of advertising I grew up in. And thank god for that. (Actually, I didn't know then what I was missing.)

Then, creative was strictly left to the creatives. We were tasked to develop smart print/radio/TV/direct mail. Later, there were banners/Web sites/emails...

Today, everyone has to be creative. And I mean everyone. Because the charge of an agency today is to create more than just great ads and online messages. It's about creating strategically smart, compelling, holistic, cross-platform programs that strike just the right chord with patients/caretakers/professionals. That connect with them at just the right place in their hearts and moment of their journey. That maximize engagement, incite doctor-patient dialogue, invite more positive and healthful behaviors, better adherence and spread overall good karma.

Then, the creative brief was the domain of the planners and creatives.

Today, everyone needs to get involved, because everyone can bring their unique perspective to the party, and the earlier they do it, the better.

And today's version of "everyone" is different from tomorrow's, as we try to keep up with the ever-evolving tableau of insights/technologies/solutions/regulatory issues...

As I said, it's an exciting time to be in the healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

Which by next week, will probably have an even longer name.

-Mark 

 

Sunday Was No Walk In the Park

Last Sunday, Copy Extrovert Jamie Silverman (above, far right) braved the rain to take part in the annual NYC AIDs Walk. Here's her report:

The crowd roared, “EX-TRO-VERT-IC!, EX-TRO-VER-TIC!, EX-TRO-VER-TIC!,” as our band of merry Extroverts crossed the starting line at the NYC AIDS Walk this past Sunday. 

Okay, so maybe that didn’t happen. But, clad in our Extrovertic-branded shirts, we did make a fierce showing on a dreary, rainy day.

And we were just mere specks in the sea of thousands of dedicated folks who braved the elements to do their part in the fight against AIDS.

Young, old, gay, straight, in drag, or wearing their team T-shirts, every possible demographic was represented. Free snacks abounded (always a cause for excitement).

But I would say that the surprise appearance of the cast of the television comedy, “Modern Family” (Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell, and Julie Bowen), at the opening ceremony was the highlight of the day.

Briefly meeting a coworker’s mom en-route was the piéce de résistance.

(The festively clad cheerleaders showing their pride, and lubricant – brand sponsored garbage cans, tied for second.)  

The 6-mile walk began on the east side of Central Park, took us on a scenic (albeit extremely slow moving) tour up through Harlem, and back down the west side.

Celebrities and mom sightings aside, what really made the day special was the sense that every one of us – no matter our ethnicity or sexual orientation – were in this thing together. Slogging through the raindrops and mud, we all marched on, in the hope of making a real difference. A veritable army of Extroverts. All working towards the common goal of elevating the patient. We were walking for the brave people who suffer from AIDS.

It was a great experience. And, quite likely, the first of many Extrovertic AIDS Walks.

-Jamie

 

Unmasking an Extrovertic Hero

Last night, a number of  us at Extrovertic had the privilege of attending the Cielo Latino "Unmask AIDs" gala in support of the Latin Commission on AIDs, for which we were a sponsor.

It was an incredible night. The food was superb (the event was held at Cipriani Wall Street).

The crowd, extremely diverse and primed for a wonderful evening.

The presenters, top rate. (Rosie Perez was as hysterically raunchy as she was passionate about the night's cause.)

But Rosie wasn't the only person whose dedication to the evening's success was palpable.

Our Digital Creative Extrovert, Russell Wakelin (above left), was our personal master of ceremonies. Russ has sat, for the past few years, on the commission's board, and serves as Creative Director for the annual event. It's something he cares about deeply and it shows.

It quickly became clear that he was as much a part of the fabric of the evening as the red carpet we all got to pose on before entering the building. (Guillermo Chacon, the President of the Commission, greeted Russ – and the rest of us – with open arms for the paparazzi. Mr. Chacone also saluted Russ warmly from the podium during his opening remarks.)

And for good reason. Russ did terrific job, which was no surprise to us. He helped make the evening extremely powerful and memorable.
 
And his colleagues extremely proud. 

Russ showed the rest of the world why our Extroverts are truly something special.

-Mark