Iconic musician and noted weirdo Prince has officially either become the smartest man on the planet, or is continuing his lifelong assault on common sense.  (Remember, this is the dude that changed his name to a symbol.)

He said the following to The Mirror:

The internet’s completely over. I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it.  The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.  They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you. – The Artist Formerly and Currently Known as Prince

Whoa.

That’s a pretty ballsy thing to say, dontcha think?

The Internet is done?  Gone the way of “Yo! MTV Raps?”  And “Remote Control?”

You may recall that rock band Metallica had some run-ins with the Internet because they wanted to get paid for their work.  As cool as stealing music may sound, for artists, even millionaire artists, it’s theft.  They did something good and deserve to get compensated for it.  I get that.

However, Prince is complaining because he won’t get paid in advance from iTunes?  How about you get paid for what you sell?  Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?

So, is the Internet over?  Is it just like MTV?  Will we look back on this period of time fondly in 20 years and wonder where it all went?  And, most importantly, if the Internet is “over,” can we save it?

(Also, I was going to put up a Prince song for you, but he had pulled his music from the Internet, practicing what he’s preaching…)

The year was 2007.  The Los Angeles Dodgers needed an infielder, so they reached into their farm system and recalled Taiwanese player Chin-Lung Hu.  In a game against the San Diego Padres, the newest player singled, allowing Vin Scully to utter the greatest line in baseball broadcasting history: “And Hu’s on first.”

Of course, that hearkened back to the days of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and their infamous “Who’s On First?” routine.  Take a look – and it’s OK to laugh out loud!

OK, ok, ok…how does “Who’s On First?” relate to public relations?

It is a textbook on how NOT to communicate!  Neither Abbott nor Costello were asking the questions properly or providing the answers clearly, which led to:

1) Confusion

2) Frustration

3) Well…laughs for you and me.

Here are 3 steps to avoiding miscommunication:

1) Know Your Audience: Above all else, know who you are talking/writing to.  Would you talk to a room of scientists the same way you’d talk to a group of skateboarders?  Probably not, and that’s OK.  So take time and do some research on who your audience is!

2) Put Yourself In Their Shoes: After you’ve ascertained who is paying attention, think about how they will receive the information you are sending them.  Concentrate less on what you will say and more on what they will hear.  If you aren’t presenting your case in a way they can understand it, you’ve already lost.

3) Be Complete: You know the old saying about assumptions?  It’s axiomatic because it’s true.  Present completely and accurately so everyone knows what was said.

In the sketch, Abbott and Costello couldn’t get on the same page.  Well, they actually could: THIRD BASE!

What tips do you have to avoid miscommunication?

A few weeks ago, Rick Astley helped me introduce the concept of being committed to being awesome.  But there was one problem in the post: we never discussed what “Social Media Awesomeness” really is, so you know what exactly you are committing yourself to.

The most awesome shirt EVER!

So let’s do just that right now.

First, though, let’s address the elephant in the room.  Social Media Awesomeness is NOT about how many followers you have.  Sorry.  It’s just a number.  Bigger is generally better.  But having a large number of followers does not make you awesome.  I’ve encountered decidedly un-awesome people who have lots of followers and fans.

Second, just because you’ve been on the wagon for a few years does NOT make you awesome, either.  Seniority in social media does not necessarily equate with Social Media Awesomeness.

Network size and veteran status may be traits that many awesome people share, but they are not exclusive to awesome folk.

OK, with that out of the way, let’s discuss 5 Characteristics of Social Media AWESOME People:

1. Awesome people listen. Social Media is still a new frontier.  (Case in point: Did you realize MySpace, a network many people say has outlived it’s usefulness, launched in 2003?  This Web 2.0 world is barely potty trained.)  As a still-emerging landscape, there are countless sites, networks, tools that you (and me, too) just don’t know.  But someone else does.  Read, watch, pay attention – what may not even be a blip on your radar may be the next major trend.

2. Awesome people converse. More specifically, awesome people have conversations with people, and don’t preach.  We can all learn valuable information from each other.  However, if you’re awesome, you likely have something just as valuable to contribute to the conversation.  Don’t be afraid of that.  Along the same line, awesome people enjoy interacting with new people.

3. Awesome people blaze trails. People who are Social Media Awesome go places, literally, electronically, creatively, that other people haven’t been before (at least the people they know!).  Think about how you can get MORE out of social media and figure out a way to make it happen.

4. Awesome people like people. The power of social media is immense.  It’s truly something that is undersold.  Look at the people you can interact with in real-time around the world!  It has changed how we communicate, how we get our news, how we share our lives with friends and families, how we value privacy.  Unreal!  Well, truly awesome people remember that behind each Facebook profile and Twitter account and  YouTube video, there is a living, breathing human being.  Schedule a phone chat with someone you met online.  Go to a TweetUp for a drink after work and meet the people behind the avatars.  You’ll find you probably like them even more after you’ve met them in real life!

5. Awesome people take nothing for granted. Being awesome takes effort and dedication.  And both of those mean nothing without consistency.  Awesome social mediaites  bring their A+ Game each and every day because, well, you never know who you’ll encounter.  It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

I think it’s safe to say that, like perfection, we are all chasing awesomeness.  It’s something that may be just beyond our grasp.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t rededicate ourselves to the cause every morning.

Tell me, what other traits can lead to pure Social Media Awesomeness?

Let’s get some debate going on a Monday morning, why don’t we??

I’ve heard an increasing number of people recently express their disgust with the term “social media guru.”

Here is how “guru” is defined by Wikipedia: “one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher)”

The definition seems actually fairly tame; someone who is really good at something and shares his/her knowledge.

Using that premise, you can almost create a “guru hierarchy” in social media, based on the amount of quality of interations with other people.

So why the hate?  It seems like a social media world benefits from having knowledgeable users who teach other people the ins and outs.  [Full disclosure - I just checked my bio on this site, and I called myself a "social media guru."  Whoops.  Maybe I jumped the gun a bit, but I had a social media article published in PRWeek and was coming off some huge client successes when I wrote it.]

And when pitching new business, isn’t “guru” a fun word to use?

Should we standardize guru-ness, so everyone is guruing on the same guru field?

Or do should just let people call themselves what they will and let their actions speak louder than their words?

How is this term worse than “PR Wizard” or “Marketing Genious?”  Is it because of the mild religious connotations that portray social media as somewhat of a cult?

So, go to town.  Hate me for using the “offensive” term [I can take it.].  Or make a case on why it’s really no big deal.  Should I remove the tag from my bio?

Before Christian left WWE several years ago for a run with TNA, he had perhaps the sweetest theme song in quite some time, “Just Close Your Eyes” by a small indie band called Waterproof Blonde. Haunting, catchy, just a great, great song.

However, as previously mentioned, Christian left WWE for about 3 years.

When he returned, the song was the same, but the artist was different. Story of the Year got their hands on the song and simply made it better!