Brett Whitmarsh

Shareable media

Even though I spend each work day with my nose buried in Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google + and reddit – without fail when I get home each night, my girlfriend and I usually have the same social media conversation:

Her: Hey did you see that funny cat meme Jenny Lawson posted today?

Me: Yeah that was hilarious. Hey did you see The Riverhouse posted about a new menu?

Her: I did, we should check that out this weekend. The picture of that pumpkin squash they posted looked amazing. Oh, did you read that article that JetPack posted about the major changes coming to D.C.?

Me: Um… no, I must have missed that.

Next thing I know, I’m reluctantly sitting through an incredible post that I now find myself fully enjoying… and then share on every social media channel I have. This routine happens almost every night, usually while we’re making dinner.

More importantly, this conversation explains why we like, follow, pin, and subscribe to brands on all the various social media channels we have available to us, we don’t want to miss out on anything.

FOMO – The Fear of Missing Out
The above conversation also happens because my girlfriend wants to show me that she knows more interesting things than I do, which she does. Then the competitive side of me goes crazy because I think I’ve missed something. Worse yet, the network I’ve built for myself (on all my social media channels) might be missing out on this incredible nugget as well — because I’m not sharing it. I don’t want to look like I’m not in the know.

“Shareable-media”
The approach to social media, however big or small, should be focused on shareable-media. If you want people to take notice of your brand (and capitalize on the word-of-mouth nature of social media) then you need to present your content in a form that will get people to share it. Social media is about engagement, the best way to get those likes, shares, pins, or +1’s is to deliver your content in a way that drives people to want to share it.

Content is king:
How do we get them to share? None of the above situations kick in unless the content being posted is strong. Whatever you’re posting in your social media channels, you need to put your best content out there, whatever it is. Facebook even has a tip when you buy a sponsored post; sponsor the post on your page that did the best, not the worst. Their rational being that since it did so well with your audience before the extra bump, then the content is strong enough to deliver the best results. So nothing else matters because the content is still, and will forever be, king.

Personal space:
All that said, people still see social media as their personal space, and it’s important that brands don’t go too far. People are likely to unfollow a brand if they feel their social network is being invaded. We as users invite brands to be welcomed in our network. That invitation also comes with a responsibility to be a good guest. People want to be apart of a brand that they know and love. They want bragging rights about how well they are connected to their brand, but they also want the brand to listen and respond to their needs. When they comment on your post, it’s important to respond. Most of us don’t want to feel like we’re shouting in an empty room. We want to know that our voices are being heard, especially if we’re “liking” a brand – so always be listening and know when to respond.

(c) Brett Whitmarsh

Twitter turns 7

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

Celebrating Twitter’s 7th birthday

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/watercooler/article/236088/108/Twitter-turns-seven-years-old-today

(Source: http://c.brightcove.com/)

Facebook announces a redesign of News Feed

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

Facebook has announced a long overdue redesign of news feed. They’re also changing lists into selected feeds. Plus better use of photos, and a redesign for mobile that is long since needed,

(Source: http://c.brightcove.com/)

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1

My interview with The Bloggess, also known as Jenny Lawson. Her book “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (a mostly true memoir)” has just been released in paperback. She is one of the funniest authors I’ve ever read and I can’t get enough of her work. 

(Source: http://c.brightcove.com/)

I’m the Chris Farley of 207

It’s time I come clean with the viewers of Maine TV, I’m the Chris Falrey of 207. I can do the odd interview here and there (with some competence), but when I hit something that I am a big fan of; I geek out. I can’t hide my enthusiasm, or my excitement, that I am interviewing someone I am in awe of.


I can’t help but gush over how much I love the person’s show/writing/talent. During my Doctor Who interview with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, I called Karen by her character name, Amy Pond, which you should never do.


Being a TV and broadcast journalism geek, I can tell you that with all certainty there is no better, or tougher, interviewer than Rob Caldwell.

I’ve worked with Rob for ten years now, and absolutely no one compares to him in terms of asking though, thoughtful, and fair questions. He knows how to ask the question that gets an answer the viewer will find interesting and engaging.

One of the elements of a good interview is not making it about you. This is a very hard lesson for many ego driven TV types.

In your mind you’re thinking, “well I’m on TV too, people know who I am. They obviously want me to interject what I think and feel into this conversation.” No, the viewers want you to ask the questions that make the interview all about the person they’ve tuned into see, which is not always going to be you.


Rob Caldwell gets this, as many other good interviewers do too. It’s becoming less and less of a common practice though. As we become our own mini stars, with TV and social media, a good reporter must remember what they’re there to do; tell a story.

What happens though, as in my case, when you just want to do the interview for yourself? Yes — I know it’s not about me, but it kind of is. I want to ask the questions I want to ask because I’m a fan. I don’t want to waste the few precious moments I have with this talented person setting up a question for people who are new to them. I want to get right to my super geeky, often inside, question.

Sadly, that’s irresponsible and I know it because I’ve watched Rob for the last ten years do the right thing every time. Whenever I get into a situation I can’t think my way out of, I think; “what would Rob do?” My Caldwell instinct always kicks in and I do the right thing.

It’s hard to stay responsible when you are a big fan. That’s where his years of experience trumps anything that can be taught. I know he’s interviewed many people he’s a big fan of, but he knows how to words things in a way that does the job for both fan and viewer. With an author, or an actor, you ask questions that will appeal to a general audience — not the niche audience.

I’m trying to find those precious words now as I struggle to ask the right questions of someone I am a big fan of (someone who doesn’t want a lot of gushing or fanfare). It’s where I see just how good Rob is, and how I need more experience. I need a couple of failures to know just how to do it right. Thought, let’s be honest, who wants to go on TV and fail in front of everyone? It’s not really failure; it’s more like a coach examining a good play to se where it can be done better the next time.

So I’ve gone back into my geekness and examined how I can do it better this time. How will I do? I have no idea, I’ll let the other fans and viewers decide that when the interview airs.