social media: it’s not a trip to the dentist.

Back in college, I visited our dentist over winter break and he lamented that he wouldn’t be able to fix one of my cavities until I was home for spring break.

I said no prob — it mainly hurt when I’d open my mouth in cold weather to say hello to people around campus.

Then don’t say hi to people, he replied.

In a way, this is analogous to businesses — colleges included — debating the use of social media. The potential pain seems an impediment to trying to communicate. People worry about the time involved, of having one more task to do. Others don’t see the payoff; there are no 20-page annotated graph-filled Best Practices Reports yet, no clear return-on-investment model. Managers worry about the lack of control, of the perceived perils of empowering people to create conversations on your behalf.

But here’s the thing: If you’re a college, business or person of any renown — a brand, essentially — people are talking about you. A lot. All over the Internet. You can go to Addictomatic and type in any institution name and find the current Internet buzz in terms of news, blogs, videos, pictures, Twitter and other media. Don’t you want to be part of your brand’s conversation? Moreover, don’t you want to lead your brand’s conversation?

When I poured time, brain cells and hustle into launching the SUNY Oswego Student Blogs, I was often asked why. Social media is not just an emerging form of communication, it’s THE form of communication for many of our prospective students. Sure, we have to pay attention to print, TV and other traditional media, but more and more students receive their info from the Web. Colleges design elaborate student-led admissions programs for incoming students because they know current students are great ambassadors. So why not allow students to become cyber-ambassadors, whether as bloggers or on Facebook or other social media platforms?

Which brings us back to the barrier of perceived pain, and the beginning of my story. Did I stop saying hello to friends and others while walking around campus? Of course not. A little bit of discomfort is a part of life, but it shouldn’t be enough to keep us from enjoying quality conversations.

sticking it.

What do the urban legend about kidney thieves, Jared the Subway spokesman, The Truth ad campaign, “It’s The Economy, Stupid” and Aesop’s “Sour Grapes” fable all have in common?

They all represent stories or ideas that have stuck in the collective mindshare, and are among the lively examples that help make Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die such an informative and interesting read. The Brothers Heath study concepts that connect and find that successful folk tales, Internet hoaxes and advertising campaigns alike touch on more than one of six threads, for which they use the anagram SUCCESs:

* Simplicity: You should be able to strip an idea down to its core essence.

* Unexpectedness: The twist we don’t expect cuts through the clutter and sticks in our mind.

* Concreteness: Make your point visual or experiential so that people can remember its meaning.

* Credibility: Who can make the world understand and believe your idea?

* Emotional: Audiences remember feelings more than facts.

* Stories: People understand, relate to and recall resonant tales.

Some ideas capture all of these points. Consider Jared Fogle, who lost 245 pounds from eating at Subway and physical activity. He became an unlikely success — even the company and national ad agency first scoffed at the concept — and touches on all the SUCCESs points. Simplicity (Subway = healthy), Unexpected (a fast-food diet?), Concreteness (look at his old 60-inch pants!), Credibility (Jared is a likable everyman), Emotion (who doesn’t want to improve themselves?) and Stories (what a story!).

Made to Stick doesn’t just benefit professional communicators. Anyone who needs to put their ideas across — managers, teachers, parents — would benefit from the enjoyable, engaging and engrossing read. Don’t believe me? The next time you have an idea you want to stick in the minds of others, think of it under the lens of SUCCESs … and you just may have a better chance of actual success.

another blog?

Hello, my name is Tim and I’m a blogoholic. This represents the sixth blog I’ve established. Some of them were just similar brain spillings just in different formats. One was for my master’s thesis on the questionable origins of the “Generation X” stereotype. Another was a blog for my fantasy baseball doings, to spare my regular blog readers this dorkery.

And this blog? We’ll consider this more of a professional blog. One dedicated to trends in creativity and communication, writing and the Web. Well, it’s not a great description. But it’s my hope that this will be a pretty decent blog. Stay tuned!