If you follow me on Twitter (@mariakonopken), Facebook postings, or simply talk to me in my offline life, it is no secret I am a huge sports fan especially when it come to the Arizona Cardinals. And while my team will not be making the trip to Indianapolis for the big game, nearly 150,000 people will be descending on the city to see the New York Giants take on the New England Patriots.

It can almost go without saying of those 150,000, most have never been to Indianapolis, let alone a Super Bowl. And while this chaos is nothing new to the NFL, this year they are taking a different approach by creating a Social Media Command Center. In short, the purpose of the Social Media Command Center is a group of Social Media Strategists in Indianapolis who, through Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms will respond to fans with questions on events, directions parking, tourism information, and other inquires. The patron doesn’t need to say “Hey I need help parking,” but will search for keywords and phrases. The Command Center is launching today and will run through Super Bowl Sunday.

In my opinion, I think this is an amazing idea. Not only could it help people stay safe and lower frustrations during Super Bowl week, but also helps in promoting a city more than any book might. From restaurants to attractions, one can explore a city they may have otherwise missed.  I recently tweeted asking what there is to do in Indianapolis to test out their response time, so we will see how it goes.

To measure the strengths and weaknesses of the Command Center, researchers from Ball State University will be conducting a study. In an e-mail to Mashable.com, Michael Holmes, director of the center’s Insight & Research Unit, stated the Command Center is an example of the “the ubiquity of social media and the absolute necessity for companies, organizations and communities to use these tools to improve their relations with their customers, audience and citizens.”

If this new Command Center is as successful as planners are hoping, it could change the future of Social Media for major events, and could help better inform the general public if anything were to occur.

How do you think this will change future major events?

The members of the Gannett Local team have a mix of December traditions. I’m a Christmas kid. My family has a lot of traditions, and we watch a lot of movies and old Christmas specials. My favorite is that most-quotable of holiday classics, A Christmas Story. One of the most charming aspects of the film is its carefully crafted dialog and narration – the thoughts of a young boy, amplified by imagination and the passage of time.

Out of a selection of these marvelous quotes, I’ve pulled some thoughts for your social media efforts. I triple-dog-dare you to come along!

“Fra-gi-le” (must be Italian)

In the film, Ralphie’s father wins a “Major Award” in the form of a leg lamp which arrives in a crate labeled “FRAGILE.” He pronounces it with three syllables “fra-gi-le” – observing that it “must be Italian.” This leads me to my first social media tip:

1. Don’t assume everyone in your audience knows what you’re talking about

If you are anything like me, it can be really easy to forget that not everyone spends as much time as I do online or on social platforms, or in music, or obsessing over holiday movies, etc. I’m not suggesting that you cater to the lowest common denominator, but when you are communicating with your broader audience, be aware of jargon, abbreviations and nicknames that you commonly use. Some of them may not be as easy to understand for certain members of your audience. Throw them the occasional explanation, or a link to an existing wiki.

As fond as Ralphie’s father is of the lamp, his mother is NO fan and is later on somehow involved in the “accidental” destruction of it. Which tells us:

2. Hyper-focused content has benefits and drawbacks

Focusing your content can help you create deeper connections with your audience, but the deeper you go, the more narrow your reach tends to be. You can have a unique take and still relate to people outside your target. Let’s look at two manly brands for an example. The Dr Pepper Ten “not for women” campaign caught some grief from women’s organizations for its exclusionary nature. Meanwhile, The Old Spice Guy playfully overdoes the male stereotypes while still being respectful of “ladies” (particularly Lisa, Angela, Pamela and Renee).

So remember that your relationship with your audience is “fra-gi-le”

“Oh Fuuuudge”

After losing the lug nuts in the dark, Ralphie utters what he later refers to as “The mother of all curse words” – the audience hears it as “fudge.”

…

There are consequences for this.

Lessons?

3. When life happens, think before you tweet.

Things are sure to go wrong or anger you or offend you, but you need to think about what you say before hitting POST. This is doubly true for those of us managing brand channels. Even if you think better of it later and delete it, you can’t un-ring a bell. If what you post is bad enough, someone will take a screenshot of it for posterity. If you’re unsure of the potentially damaging effects of a bad tweet, ask Kenneth Cole or Anthony Weiner.

4. We all make mistakes. Own up, apologize (and if necessary wash your mouth with soap).

There’s no shortage of examples of brands messing up on social media, but the stories that seem to persist the most are the ones where the brand either tries to cover it up or takes no action. The internet is full of trolls, and they will pile on a social gaff. A simple, humble apology tends to turn the direction of the conversation back toward civility and normalcy. Own up, apologize and move on.

And of course, no list of Christmas Story quotes would be complete without…

“You’ll shoot your eye out!”

All Ralphie wants for Christmas is a “Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle.” His mother, teacher, and even Santa say he won’t get it – warning him that he’ll shoot his eye out.
SPOILER ALERT
He eventually does get the air rifle for Christmas and in his excitement runs outside to try it out. He affixes a paper target to a tin sign, sets his sight on the target, and fires. The BB ricochets and hits him in the glasses, making him think for a moment he had, in fact, shot his own eye out.  The lesson there?

5. Be careful what you wish for.

If you use controversial topics to try to gain attention for your brand, don’t be surprised when your crowd is contentious. If you build your audience through deep one-on-one interactions, don’t be surprised when they start to feel ignored as the audience grows. It’s been said you keep them with what you win them with – keep sustainability in mind as you grow your brand.

6. Ask what’s behind the target.

If you are managing a social brand, you should very much have targets and goals in mind – whether personal or contractual. With every goal, ask yourself what is behind it. “Grow our likes by 200% in Q2″ is an easy target to wrap your mind around, but what does the person ask expect to get out of this goal? If the driving motivation is branding and reach, then that target makes sense. But if the deeper driving value is customer service or conversions, that should inform your approach. You might even want to push back with a target that you feel is more in line with the “real” goal. If you don’t think about what’s behind the target… you may hit the target, but shoot your eye out in the process.

Well I hope you had as much fun remembering the film as I did. And if you love the film, please forgive me for linking something so sacred to social media marketing, but that is truly how my mind works – I love both things! I have some other have-baked quote insights floating around in my head that didn’t make the cut – drop your favorite quotes in the comments below.

I hope your December has been swell and your New Year is A++++++…

 Film images from “A Christmas Story” © 1983 MGM
Leg lamp available here

We often hear that Social Media and all new technology is hurting our way of life and how we communicate, that we do not have the same interactions or societal norms as before. As a result, our society will soon be filled of loners and degenerates who spend all their time on their phones, computers and the latest iApple product, knowing nothing about the real world around them.

And in a way, those who have these beliefs are partly right. The truth is Social Media has changed the way we communicate and our thought process – that part is obvious. We no longer have to wait for the evening news or the newspaper to find out what is happening in the world; it is at our fingertips.

However, our society is not the loner or degenerate culture. According to one study, people who use social networks are more likely to have a diverse and larger group of friends who support them – much of whom they interact offline with as well.  Also, Facebook users are more likely to be politically engaged and knowledgeable about world events.

In fact it was Social Media in 2011 that broke the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death to much of the world’s population. It let people know of a natural disaster before it could hit them. It was also Social Media that let the world get an insider’s look at protests from Egypt to the United States.

While it may seem like the worst of times, it is also the best of times. Never before in history have we been able to document and achieve history like this, or have we been able to help those around the world with a simple click. In a sense, Social Media has, and will continue, to change how we think, interact and even protest.

And while naming a zoo’s snake may not change the world, Social Media could help pick the next world leaders.

What will 2012 bring? We’ll have to sit back, and enjoy the ride.

What’s the most memorable event you saw first on social media in 2011?