Picture yourself speaking to an auditorium filled with attentive listeners. You have prepared a great speech and they are enjoying every word of it.

Then, you start noticing a few snickers. The girl in the red sweater on your right suddenly elbows her neighbor. He smiles and elbows his neighbor. You notice that very few people are looking at you. In fact, most of the eyes in the room are aimed down, at laptops and other mobile devices. You, fellow Toastmaster, are being backchanneled. So, what do you do?

Mashable blogger Cliff Atkinson recently shared some good advice about how to stop a backchannel from turning into a total disaster. One of the most important things you can do is to know that this will happen. Understanding that a backchannel is not only possible, but very likely, is your first step. I don’t know about you, but I never really ever thought about it.

Cliff offers some good ideas for turning lemons into lemonade. I think you’ll find it helpful.

Two Hubspot marketing visionaries have written this invitation to all of us to join a revolution in the way people communicate.

It speaks to a new way of marketing that focuses on attracting potential customers, instead of interrupting them (often during their dinner hour) in order to sell products and services.  INBOUND MARKETING introduces a new protocol that is both liberating and fun! Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah help us travel along this new path to Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs.

It all starts with a story. Every business has a lot of stories to tell and each story has the potential to serve as a powerful magnet to draw in customers. What I find particularly appealing about this approach is that it puts customers in the driving seat. Instead of feeling manipulated, or even mistreated, they arrive at your doorstep having explored tons of options before making a choice. And they have done it all on their own terms.

INBOUND MARKETING offers a practical guide that’s easy to understand and follow – a classic that you will want to read and then keep handy for easy reference.

Deb Maxwell

When you live in Port Huron, everything that surrounds you is labeled “blue water.” It’s something you get used to — an attitude that stakes out “blue water” as something absurdly unique to this area.

Which is why BLUE WATER BREAK is the only name to call this periodic scan of my local Media Landscape. I hope you enjoy this specialized post to my blog.

Today, I’m zooming in on Deb Maxwell, who’s caught my eye because she’s giving away a “small token of appreciation” to new fans.

Deb is an amazing local artist who now has a Facebook Fan Page. All of a sudden, by the way, I’m seeing lots of Facebook Fan Pages along the Blue Water Blog-o-Side.

Deb owns Red Mudd Studio which is located just a few miles outside of Port Huron.

Her gift offer for new fans is a really nice touch and definitely worth rushing over to her blog to sign up. Even without a gift, however, you are going to find Deb’s blog definitely worth reading. Today’s post, for example, talks about the magnificent mosaic exhibition that’s coming to our local art incubator Studio 1219 later this week. From friends who have seen it in the nearby Birmingham/Bloomfield Art Center, I hear that it is absolutely amazing and a show you won’t want to miss! Deb’s also a great writer, so you’ll enjoy staying tuned to her blog to keep up with what’s happening within our local arts world. Enjoy!

BRINK: A Social Media Guide from the Edge

The very first time I ever heard about web 2.0 and social media was the day I bumbled across the website of PR agency SHIFT Communications. I still remember pouring over everything on their site and then reading it all a second time. This social media stuff made SO much sense.

Since then, I have continued to pay attention to SHIFT and especially enjoy principal Todd Defren’s blog. If you visit there today, you can read the 40-page report BRINK: A Social Media Guide from the Edge.

Believe me when I say that you will find something in the report to more than justify your time. It’s not only a great introduction for those new to social media, but also a helpful review for those who have been engaged for some time now.

Todd and his agency are credited with first developing the Social Media News Release and  Social Media Newsroom – you might want to take a look before designing your own versions. While every market is different, Todd’s paradigm can serve you well.

Wendy MacQueen

Did you ever stop to think about how social media has hurled us into a world filled almost entirely with written words? We don’t even take time to talk on the phone any more… quickly texting instead, message after message after message.

Not a big deal? Maybe not.

Wendy MacQueen, of Mormac Brand Re-Engineering, is an energetic and articulate marketing consultant who shed some interesting light on the subject during a program presented last week for members of the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce.  Among several thought-provoking observations, was information about a Harvard study that had shown how the actual words we say make up only 7% of our total message. Tone of voice contributes 38% and body language adds the remaining 55%. So what happens when we are consistently sending and receiving messages that are… well…  93% hidden?

I’d really like your comments on this one!

Personally, it brings to mind the writings of Canadian communications thought leader Marshall McLuhan, who helped the world understand how the methods we use to communicate can often have a stronger message than the message itself.  If he were still alive, his reaction to today’s digital world would be enlightening.

Where is all this change taking us? On one hand, social media is bringing us closer together with frequent updates. Is it possible, though, that we are also being pulled apart with messages that share only 7% of the total picture?

Wendy’s program was filled with practical tips on building relationships with customers, colleagues, and others by understanding how to communicate and work with different personality types. She shared how to successfully travel the sales  journey by keeping the experience grounded in the customer’s world. I appreciate the Chamber  making this program possible.

Social Media of Michigan members meet at EMU in Livonia (left to right: Urvi Mehta, Larry Louzon, and Janak Mehta.

You know what they say about the shoemaker whose kids go barefoot during even the coldest of Michigan winters? Not much.

About as much as they say about media marketers who fail to market their services, even in the toughest of times.

In my case, that’s about to change.

I’m not sure if I’ve been afraid to fail or afraid to succeed, but fear has been a major stumbling block. Or so says my Master Minds group.

Based in Livonia, the group is led by a husband and wife team who were born and raised in India and bring a pioneer spirit to everything they do. Urvi Mehta specializes in social media and Janak Mehta is your cybertraffic guy. They are pictured here with Larry Louzon,  self-proclaimed Cypreneur and fellow member of Social Media of Michigan.

As you know, Master Minds groups are really HOT along the East coast as tools for getting in motion and holding on to momentum while the coals still offer something worth working with. I am blessed to belong to a Master Minds group led by two professionals with a huge dose of heart and stamina. You will learn more about them in future bloggings.

Janak and Urvi Mehta have started  Social Media of Michigan because they are driven to help Michigan bounce back from this economic downturn by adding a new media (social media) component to every business that’s lost valuable momentum in our great state. So…  GO BLUE!  GO MICHIGAN!  GO NOW!

Are you ready?