andrewcareaga

Last March 1, a full two months into 2013, I stuck my neck out and made some bold social media predictions for the remainder of the year. Now, as I look in the rear-view mirror of 2013, I see a pretty spotty record of prognostication. A lesser blogger might choose to ignore the fact that his predictions did not all hit the mark. Not me. I’m all about transparency. So here’s a review of how well my predictions fared.

1. What social media channel do you feel is primed to grow its audience base the most in 2013?

I suggested that Instagram would be the fastest-growing social media channel. And wouldn’t you know it: I was right! It says so right here. So, score a point for me to take the early lead.

2. Which social media channel may disappear in 2013?

I wrote that none would disappear completely, noting that: “I still get occasional emails from hi5, which I haven’t used in ages, so apparently someone is still out there.” I added that I didn’t think the new Myspace would have much traction in 2013. Apparently, I was wrong. Myspace reported a 50 percent growth from January through September.

Score tied, 1-1.

3. What is the one social media behavior you would like to see more of in 2013?

I voted for the #humblebrag. “Done well,” I wrote, “the humblebrag is a wonderful bit of hubris and snark. It’s the act of ‘[s]ubtly letting others now about how fantastic your life is while undercutting it with a bit of self-effacing humor or “woe is me” gloss.'” I don’t know of any Internet measurement firm that tracks the rise and fall of the humblebrag, but I know of at least one commentator who wishes the humblebrag would die.

I declare this one a draw.

4. What social media behavior needs to stop?

“LinkedIn endorsements,” I wrote. “What is the point? [humblebrag]Hey, I really do appreciate all the nice endorsements about my expertise in blogging, social media, media relations and strategic communications[/humblebrag]. But unless I can include those endorsements in my annual review and parlay them into a big fat raise, they don’t really do much for me. Please tell me if I’m missing something here.”

There appears to be no retreat to the LinkedIn endorsement. Another point against me.

5. What is your best advice for a brand to connect with its audience one-on-one?

Here I agreed with Rohit Bhargava, whose tweet inspired my March 1 post. “I think it still comes down to being human,” he said. “It does require a stronger focus on creating a real voice for all communications. It also takes a deeper understanding of customer questions and how you can answer them.”

On this point, if we can all stay human, then we all win.

*****

So, there you have my scorecard for 2013 social media predictions. How about you? Did you make any predictions for 2013? If so, how did they turn out?

Photo: Crystal Ball by Anurag Agnihotri via Flickr.

It’s the final Friday of 2013, which means it’s time to do a backwards glance at the contents of this blog over the past 12 months. And time for a bit of introspection.

At a time when the experts are saying (again) that blogging is dead (again) — or at least dead for anyone except “40-somethings with kids” (I’m 50-something and have no kids) — I do have to stop and wonder whether there’s any value in a traditional blog like this versus, say, a tumblr. (Except, as I reported earlier this year, I haven’t exactly gotten the hang of the whole tumblr thing.) But then I look at the handful of fine higher ed-focused blogs that are out there, and the value they bring to their target audiences, I have to think that blogging still has a purpose.

And therefore, I plan to continue to publish this blog in 2014. And just as it was in 2013, the frequency of posts will likely be sporadic and sometimes off-topic, but I hope that some of you find some value in the topics I write about, just as you did this past year.

Here are the five (or so) blog posts that I thought brought some value, if not a little bit of insight, to the higher ed community in 2013:

The elements of a great #highered Twitter account. First on the list is a two-part post, and its success belongs to all of you much more than it does to me. For this reason, the topic is probably the best example of how these old-fashioned blogs can still foster conversation among members of a community of practice, and tap into the hive mind to generate great ideas. The discussion began with a post last April in which I took Education Dive to task for their approach to ranking the top Twitter accounts in higher ed. (Education Dive relied on two criteria — number of followers and Klout score — plus an undefined “subjective appraisal” to determine the best of the best.) In that April post, I called on the higher ed community to share their thoughts on what makes a great Twitter account, and you responded in droves. I sifted through those comments to create the second part of this discussion in May: The elements of a great #highered Twitter account.
‘College (Un)bound’ and the frog in the kettle. My thoughts on Jeff Selingo’s 2013 book College (Un)bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students. One of my highlights in 2013 was getting to meet Jeff Selingo at the CASE Annual Assembly last July in San Francisco.
Content strategy is fine, but… A suggestion that, instead of focusing so heavily on content strategy, we take a look at the needs and wants of our customers and come up with an audience strategy.
Media relations in a disintermediated world. As a former journalist turned PR/media relations practitioner turned brand manager, the role of media relations and the news media is a recurring topic for me. I wrote this back in October, and will also be presenting on this subject in June 2014 at a regional PRSA conference in Springfield, Mo.
Boring old brand-building. A post that builds off of a quote from the greatest branding book ever written, Al and Laura Ries’s The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding.

Thanks so much for reading in 2013, and for sharing your thoughts in the comments, on Twitter, and elsewhere. I wish you all a successful 2014 in all measures.