Please pardon my bleeped out French, but that’s what the BP Oil Spill Crisis has been. So when I recently caught wind of a new marketing campaign titled UnF--k The Gulf, I thought heck yeah, good to see an organization getting real about this thing. I couldn’t help but immediately click on to their website, learn about their cause, watch the well-produced video, like their Facebook page, follow their Twitter account, order a tshirt and spread the word. Immediate emotional response and subsequent action, exactly what cause-related (as well as the majority of consumer focused) marketing campaigns strive to accomplish.

But you may be thinking, well yeah you have a personal interest in this thing so of course you did. Well not so fast. See, there’s this other campaign out there that rolled out at just about the same time. Be The One, presented by Women of the Storm, has a lot going for it, but it simply lacks the oomph and wowza factor of UFTG. It features a video call-to-action with bucket loads of celebrities, a well-designed identity and website plus a cool t-shirt with a QR code that links to a petition calling for restoration of the Gulf. Two great causes, two well-designed and well-implemented campaigns. But from an emotional standpoint, “Be The One” just doesn’t hit as hard as “Un F—k The Gulf.”  It is not “stop in your tracks I need to do something NOW” kind of message.

It should also be noted that UFTG is receiving a lot of flack for their message. I get the ruffled feathers, after all it shakes conservative wisdom up. But this is the largest environmental disaster that we’ve ever witnessed. This will affect us all. It deserves an in your face, we’re f-in pissed off kind of message. If you can’t say it now, then when.

In the end, I admire both campaigns, whole-heartedly love and appreciate the work that they are doing and the help and awareness they are trying to provide. So go like, follow, order stuff and tell others about both causes. The Gulf Coast needs all the help that we can give.

A special shout out to all the lovers of facespace, bloggitty blogs, tweeps and feeds. Rock on with your super social selves!

As a newish resident, I thought it would be fun to shoot a few Louisville related questions to CurrentMarketing’s other recent transplant. So let’s see what Michigan native, Brian Solomon, has to say about the ‘Ville:

AT: Best thing you’ve seen since moving here?
BS: The junkyard. Well, it’s not a junkyard, it’s a yard that has everything that Coney Island threw away. On Mellwood, I think.

AT: How do you pronounce your new city?
BS: Before, Looeyville. Now, Looavull. I’m learning the local lingo.

AT: Cards or cats?
BS: Cats. I have a cat, so I better say cat.
(After a brief clarification of UofL Cards vs. UK Cats: “Spartans”)

AT: Place you can’t wait to check out?
BS: 4th Street. Haven’t spent much time downtown.

AT: Most surprising aspect of Louisville?
BS: The architecture. It looks straight out of a Twain novel.

AT: What do you think about horses?
BS: They’re very big. And freak me out a little bit.

AT: Bourbon or beer?
BS: Bourbon.

AT: What do you use most to get around town? Google maps, GPS or wing it?
BS: Google Maps on my Google phone (flashes phone). But I’m starting to wing it too.

AT: Something that we have in Louisville that you did not have in Michigan?
BS: A river.

When explaining my role to others, I often get the “that’s awesome!” expression or the ever popular “gosh, I’d love to get paid to mess around on Facebook all day.” While yes, my job IS awesome, and yes, I love getting paid to scan Facebook, there is obviously so much more to the job...I have to scan Twitter. (Kidding!) Again, there is SO much more to the job.

Like most careers, there are misconceptions. And over the past few months, I’ve received several legitimate requests for career advice and the recipients are often surprised at the aspects that they haven’t considered. The information that is out there often only teaches the tools, not the meat of the medium. So if you’d like to truly launch yourself into the field of social media, listen up. Here’s a list of the top 5 aspects that I think are crucial to a career in the field. P.S. You’ve got a lot more to learn about than just the mechanics of the medium.

1. Fundamentals. To be successful in this field, you need to know the business of advertising, including the principles of marketing, media and strategic planning, brand management, organizational behavior, market research, sales, public relations and promotion. Social media requires their application using new school technology. Personally, my best preparation stems from a degree in Advertising as well as from the social media internships and marketing jobs that followed. (ah hem, more than an understanding of social networks)

2. Brand Management. Branding is such a powerful aspect of the job. You either "get" branding or you don’t. And if you don’t understand branding, you won’t be successful with a career social media. So study all that you can because it must become second nature. Think of it this way, as a social media manager, you will be the online voice for a brand. (quite possibly the voice of multiple brands.) Every status update, every tweet, every response comment must represent the voice of a certain brand. I can’t say it enough - you better understand branding and you better understand your clients. You better live, breath and CONSISTENTLY speak any given brand at any given time.

3. Details. You MUST be detail oriented. The job is high profile in the sense that hundreds, if not thousands will instantly see one minor slip up. And it’s soooo very easy to post a typo, incorrect information or *gasp* even the wrong message. Never let a mistake happen. If a slip-up does occur, you better realize it quickly so that you can adapt and respond with corrections. Mistakes in social media are instantly seen by your fans, followers, customers, client, client’s employees, the competition, brand haters, your boss, your coworkers and heck even your mom. And they don’t only reflect on you, they vastly reflect the brand (HUGE!)

4. Nerd. If you’re not a geek at heart then take your advertising skills elsewhere. You need to be a sponge of technology and trends. Things are changing so quickly in media, you need to know tomorrow’s biggest trends yesterday. You should also understand the nuances of social networks and their applications in technology so that your clients will be in those spaces when they go mainstream.

5. Lifestyle. You must have a passion for social media because it is quite literally a 24/7, 365 kind of job. Primary messages, editorial calendars and postings can be done beforehand, but monitoring occurs well beyond the hours of 8AM-6PM, Monday – Friday. You must be willing and able to speak any given brand at any given hour. And you must always be on the lookout for your next bit of information. But if you love it, you won’t give a damn. Instead you’ll just keep pinching yourself while thinking “damn, I get paid to do this?” And if you’re good at it then yes, yes you will.

What happens when your reigning mayor's family is expecting a new arrival? Well vote, of course! We're dropping in our ballots and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest CM newbie. Sending our best wishes to the Bonifers on Deuce Day!

This gosh darn Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, there’s literally nothing pretty about it. It’s frustrating, sickening and disturbing. As some of you may know, I was born and raised in southern Louisiana. As most of you probably don’t, I’m from Plaquemines Parish - the long protrusion of land that stems from New Orleans and ends with the Mississippi Delta. So as you can imagine, this flippin’ oil spill is hitting me in the gut. It hurts to know what’s going on with our environment and the people of the Gulf Coast. It hurts to see my home covered in thick crude every time I turn on the TV or log in to the online social spaces.

Right now I could write an entire thesis on the whole subject, but well, no one wants to read that. So instead I’ll just talk social media. First and foremost, unfortunately it’s crisis that often shows the true breadth and power of social media. You know what I mean because it’s obvious. It’s the crowdsourcing of ideas, Facebook pages, groups, blogs, Twitter accounts, hashtags, link sharing, etc. Social media is becoming a major player in the way we consume our news. Personally, my Facebook news stream is flooded with updates about the spill from friends and family back home, from news organizations and from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal himself.

We often complain about the mundane/boring updates from Facebook and Twitter, but because of them, I’ve learned of friends who are devoting the next few months to the clean up and of family members who plan on closing their seafood businesses. I’ve looked at pictures from major national news organizations that are quite literally from my old backyard. And I’ve watched BP’s every (public) move. So have many, many others. They are organizing on social networks and venting their frustrations with groups calling for the boycott of BP. Not all of it is negative feedback, others are organizing in search of a solution.

BP has some representation in the social media space with @BP_America. The account is providing followers with updates and links to the situation. Even though it’s simple updates, it is nice to get information straight from the source. Then there is @BPGlobalPR. Nope, it’s not another BP account. Instead it’s a cleverly written imposter that has amassed 51,000+ followers since May 19. Speculation has it that it’s from one of the folks at Funny Or Die. And as reported in AdAge, BP currently has no plans to ask for the removal of the account. And I hope they don’t. Sure, they should clarify a few things so that people don’t confuse it with a real account, but I think it provides another outlet for us to vent our frustrations. It gives a few seconds of “humor” to the situation.  Plus, BP needs to keep all energies focused elsewhere for the time being.

I’ll continue with more on this topic next week. In the meantime, and if it’s within your means, please contribute to the cause: http://www.gnof.org

(And a personal note: Bernard Picone, an oyster fisherman featured on The Greater New Orleans Foundation site, is the brother of my sister-in-law. The fisherman and people of the gulf coast once again need all the help that they can get and that we can provide. But it doesn’t just stop there. The wildlife and seafood industry of the U.S. is truly in great peril, and that affects us all, regardless of geography. So please help in any way possible. Thanks y’all.)

Our Account Girl Wonder is now a bride-to-be! We're thrilled to announce that Meredith is getting married!

One of my favorite reads in ad school was a well-written book titled “Hitting The Sweet Spot: How Consumer Insights Can Inspire Better Marketing and Advertising.” The book, written by Northwestern professor Lisa Fortini-Campbell, really struck a cord because of its strong emphasis on the right combination of consumer insight and brand insight – the “Sweet Spot.” I wish I could go into more detail, but unfortunately it’s been a few years since reading and I probably sold it off for Nationals tickets. And anyway a book review is not my point here.

Today a brand hit my sweet spot. Today I left a retail location with a smile on my face and a skip in my step. Today I purchased something that I would not have purchased if not for a particular social media promotion. Today I was rewarded for frequent purchases toward a brand that had been waning in my opinion book. But tonight my level of loyalty it at the highest level it has ever been.

Today I received my first foursquare special: a $1.00 off a Starbucks frappuccino because I am the “mayor” of a particular location. Laughable? Yes. Small potatoes? Sure. But my competitive, fun-loving nature was rewarded. It felt good and I’ll be back to keep my “mayorship” in tact - hopefully I can get that next special.

Starbucks got an early-adopter on its side once more. I tweeted it, I Facebooked it, I tumbled it, I’m telling everyone, and well heck I’m even writing a dang blog about it. Again, small potatoes for such a large organization like Starbucks, but touch points add up to make or break a brand. More importantly, think of the value of such interactions for the smaller organizations with much more on the line, and much less money to be nimble in today’s fragmented marketplace. Yes indeedy, another win for the evolving world of social media marketing.

“Like” it or not, geo-location is here to stay. The game is quickly catching on as users readily adopt the latest social media craze. Late last week, Foursquare developer @harryh tweeted “I didn't notice until just now, but @foursquare had its 40 millionth checkin a couple days ago. Neat.”

Neato it is. 40 million means that foursquare checkins have doubled over the past month. Doubled! But instead of celebrating a happy moment for the folks at the square, I’m concerned. There is a big old shark lurking in the geo-location water and it’s about to bite. Hard.

Facebook.

Dum dum dum. Yep, the big bad wolf of social networking is set to launch geo-location features in June. Will Facebook’s impending features hurt foursquare? Let's answer with another obvious question, how could it not considering the instant pool of 100 million instant FB mobile users? Oh, PLUS the 300 million others who will be left wondering what’s up with all the location stuff.  For marketers, it seems like a possible instant win. Checkins linked to Fan Pages could open up a new window of Facebook opportunities, or headaches.

But we won’t talk about all of the potential headaches just yet. Maybe Facebook geo-loco will benefit Foursquare? If Facebook keeps the fun gaming aspect out and it’s just another checkin, the cheeky appeal of Foursquare could benefit from geo-loco attention. I like the idea of Foursquare winning out but only time will tell. And I’m not just saying this because I don’t want to lose street cred on my sweet 20 badges. Wait, no one cares? Oh, right. Back on point, one thing is certain: geo-location is living up to the hype presented at SXSW and you should be plotting geo-loco strategy regardless of the platform.

In honor of YouTube’s fifth birthday, we’re sharing a few things that we would not have (or would not know about) if not for the Internet juggernaut. Enjoy.

1. The Rick Roll

2. “Boom goes the dynamite”

3. Diet Coke and Mentos

4. Keyboard Cat

5. Leave Britney Alone!

View many (many!) more oddities on YouTube’s own tribute to its big day.