When I was a kid learning the drums, two legendary American jazz drummers rocked my world - Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.
I remember my Dad - especially in April
On April 23rd 1945, Neil Treacher of Hastings, New Zealand and his fellow prisoners of war were liberated from Stalag IVB, Muhlberg-on-Elbe, Germany, by Cossacks of the Russian Army - That special day was also his 23rd birthday.
He had been incarcerated by the Germans in September 1943 having survived the harrowing experience of having his aircraft blown out of the sky over Mannheim on the night of September 6th. It was their 19th mission. Both port engines had been blown off the wing by flak and the crippled plane pirouetted into a violent spin. Dad had tried in vain to free one of his crewmates from a jammed gun turret and despite frantically attacking the mechanism with a fire axe, he was eventually forced to bail out of the flaming, spinning aircraft at just 500 feet, only seconds before it hit the ground. Upon landing on German soil, it was very much a case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire" and he and the few surviving members of his Stirling bomber crew were very fortunately captured and arrested by the authorities before the axe and pitchfork-wielding villagers could gather their nooses. Soon he was transported by rail in a cattle car for interrogation by the Gestapo before being sent on to the POW camp which lay south of Berlin and north east of Dresden by the Elbe River
The celebrations of this Liberation day more than 18 months later however were short-lived as the prisoners soon realised that the Russian army now posed a greater threat to their safety than their fleeing German captors.
The war wasn't yet over and the surrounding woods of Muhlberg-on-Elbe were still a very dangerous place. Stalag IVB camp remained the safest option and only the very bravest ventured from this sanctuary for food or to make their escape to the west.
The Russian army had been out of control. The nearby towns and villages were ransacked, officials were shot, houses looted and women raped. Even unfortunate starving POWs, desperate for food were on occasion, shot. Through the grace of God and a jammed Russian rifle, my father and his Australian mate narrowly escaped that fate after being caught with two dead chickens.
As the war drew to an end and with the very welcome arrival of the American allies, it was only then that the men could feel the joy of liberation and know that they would soon be returned home to the safety of England.
Sadly, memories of the war haunted my father for the rest of his life and, just two weeks before Christmas 1968, events conspired to totally overwhelm him and he decided he'd had enough.
He was 46 and I was 8.
As we approach Anzac Day, please remember the sacrifices that so many brave men and women made for us all during those war years and the deep scars it left on the hearts of the families touched by those dark events so long ago.
Pause and consider too, the families of those with loved ones in Afghanistan and other centres of conflict around the world, we pray that they can be returned to their homes safely very soon.
On April 23rd 2010 my Dad would have turned 88.
Thank you Dad, I love you and I miss you.
I remember you.
The rise and rise of social media.
Social media
According to Wikipedia, social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many).
My take on how social media marketing can work for you
Who would argue that word of mouth isn't the most powerful selling tool?
In April 2007, a Neilson survey proved just that. Across all forms of advertising, 78% of the study's respondents based their decision making upon recommendations from consumers - or word of mouth. (Source: Neilson Online Global Consumer Study April 2007 / Base : All respondents)
Since then and with the explosion of Social Media sites such as twitter, facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, it becomes pretty obvious where the clever communicators and businesses are starting to direct their attention.
Social media, let's be clear, is just one channel in the growing digital marketing phenomenon. Digital marketing encompasses channels such as search engine optimization (SEO) for your website, blogging, mobile marketing and email marketing.
Social media can very quickly provide insight into what the market thinks of your brand (both personal and business). Social communities share information, opinions, excitement and disappointment. There are more and more examples being reported of how social marketing has resulted in a profound effect on a product or service eliciting immediate response - even a movie launch (anyone remember the panning of the movie - Bruno - which spread like wildfire via social media?)
Using twitter as an example :
Twitter is a free social networking and micro blogging service
Evan Williams, the CEO of twitter describes it thus:
"What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it's not a social network, but it's an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world."
I have spent several months familiarising myself with the dynamism of twitter and now understand that if you really want to know what the market thinks of your brand, then you need to at least, connect - But if you want to build brand loyalty, then you need to engage.
But be warned,whilst twitter is a free service - there is a cost, - time. Many business owners simply do not have the time to build up a sufficient base of followers. It is therefore essential that a strategy is formulated and adopted to generate acceptable ROI (which in turn needs to be measured). It can take time and lots of it.
However judging by the take up of so many high profile national and international brands and business organizations such as Coca Cola, Air New Zealand, TVNZ, Vodafone NZ and even individuals such as President Obama, Bill Gates, NZ's PM John Key, Oprah Winfrey or even Ashton Kutcher - there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the investment is worth it.
In my opinion, twitter epitomizes the shift in thinking from late last century to today where Greed is now bad and Sharing is now very good. The current growth and future potential of Social Media is phenomenal and I believe firmly that you now need to be where your customers are because it is they who will drive your business forward. Here is the opportunity for your customers to know what you think and how you feel. The opportunity to inform, promote, engage, influence, respond and react.
Digital marketing spending will increase 17% in 2010 as marketers move away from TV, print and radio advertising to social media, mobile search and email marketing. Two out of three of the 1000 Marketers surveyed recently by e-mail service provider, US-based ExactTarget and internet marketing and e-commerce consulting firm, Econsultancy indicated that they intend to increase their digital marketing budgets. Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget's director of research and strategy says "Interestingly, brand reputation is becoming a more significant driver of the migration to digital marketing, particularly when it comes to Social Media"
Remember that word of mouth is still the most powerful selling tool. Remember also to engage in social media - you must Be Social.
This youtube video has been out for six months or so, but is still relevant and most impressive none the less.
For those who haven't seen it, - it's a Must - See
