Dennis Jenders

Social Media Strategy and Implementation Stickybits

I will be speaking to the Emerging and Social Media class at Marquette University this morning on the topic of Social Media Strategy. I am very excited to share my experience with the students as well as answer some of their questions.

I must thank Professor Gee Ekachai of the Department of Advertising & Public Relations for the invitation and I look forward to future opportunities.

I have created a Stickybit for the presentation. I was inspired by Edward Boches, we’ll see if my use of Stickybits is as successful as his was last week. You can scan the bar code now and attach comments, questions, thoughts and observations – photos and videos would be awesome too. Log onto stickybits.com for an account or download the iPhone / Android app so you can scan it.

If i didn’t get to your question today in class, please leave a comment here, use the Stickybits code, or you may also contact me on Twitter (@djenders).

Exploring Together, originally uploaded by Dennis Jenders.

Wow! Today marks the first time I, or anyone else, actually appears on camera. To date I’ve avoided people or portraits. I share a shot from our Saturday in Chicago. While at Willis (Sears) Tower we ventured out on to the Ledge at the Skydeck.

At 1,353 feet above street level I was surprised to find very little movement in the building. I couldn’t feel it sway, but then again it wasn’t too windy. And I really did not have a hard time pulling my Ferris Bueller stunt by leaning against the window. However the Ledge at the Skydeck, that is a completely different story.

There were no signs indicating the total weight the completely clear room(s) could support or how many people should venture out on to the glass. I later learned that the Ledge(s) can support five tons in weight. If I knew that at the time maybe I would have felt more comfortable getting completely int he room.

In this picture Kristen is helping me get further into the room, but I have one foot firmly planted on the interior as well as one on the glass. Lets face it, if the glass cracked or a failure occurred that would not have saved me. But the absence of a weight limit and railing left me with this this as my safest option.

I really like the perspective in this shot. I also like the girl a lot! We’ve been together for one year this past week and today we celebrated out first kiss. She continues to challenge me and find ways to inch me out of my comfort zone.

“Into the Wild” chronicles the adventures of Christopher McCandless, a young man looking to disconnect from a conventional and materialistic life.

After watching the movie I realize I will likely need to read the book to experience, and understand, his complete adventures. While I admire his search for something true, I found it quite sad that he found death in his journey of self-discovery.

While McCandless may have found some happiness in his isolation and the vast Alaskan wilderness, his tragic story should also be a cautionary tale. The life and people he was so desperate to abandon was replaced by an equally powerful need of companionship.

In the movie McCandless writes the following words in the margin of one of his books, “happiness only real when shared.” Like many human emotions, I really believe they only become really when demonstrated.

You can say you love someone, but that is only true if you actually show him or her every day. And happiness only becomes real when shared. Sadly, McCandless came to that conclusion to late.

Discovering the world, and your own self, is an attractive journey. But I’ve found any journey is lonely without the ones you love.

Dr. William Schreiber, a primary care physician based in North Syracuse, N.Y., claims that the 21% reduction in Medicare payments will affect his business. Dr. Schreiber suggests that cut, slated to take affect later this month, may make treating Medicare patients a “losing proposition.”

While reading this story on CNN I felt compelled to figure the math. Dr. Schreiber notes that his business has an annual revenue of $800,000. He also notes that he sees 120 patients a week. If I assume an average work day, that means he sees each patient for 20 minutes on average.

Of those 120 patients, 30% of them are Medicare patients according to the article.
30% x $800,000 = $240,000

So the 21% adjustment will affect $240,000 of his revenue.
21% x $240,000 = $50,400

By my math, Dr. Schreiber stands to loose $50,400, or 6%, of his yearly revenue. If he does average a patient every 20 minutes, that means he needs to see 2-3 additional Mediacare patients a day to overcome the loss. He would need to see even less if they are average paying patients.

An extra 2-3 Medicare patients a day will increase revenue, by $12,000.
780 patients (3 / day) x $80 = $62,400

I know doctors likely work more than 40 hours a week, likely spend more than 20 minutes with a patient, and that many other cogs in the system are making money instead of them.

However, a 6% decrease in revenue doesn’t seem overly threatening. In fact, many businesses have seen similar losses in this economic climate.

And it’s not just businesses, it’s every average American. So tell me, why should this profession be the exception?

The Polish Coat of Arms shows a brilliant White Eagle set in red. According to everyone’s friend Wikipedia, “The White Eagle emblem originated when Poland’s legendary founder Lech saw a white eagle’s nest. When he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine from the red setting sun fell on its wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the eagle was pure white. He was delighted and decided to settle there and placed the eagle on his emblem.”

The eagle symbolizes strength, courage and freedom and you often see it in a coat of arms or as a crest. I take pride in my Polish-American background and find it serendipitous that my heritage shares such a symbol and depictions. When I saw this piece of wooden art at Polish Fest last year I thought it was nice enough to hang in my home. Here I present that pride in a more stylized form.

Let me introduce Project 365. As part of my New Year’s Resolution(s) I want to commit to updating my blog on a more frequent basis.

This one year project will document daily sources of personal inspiration. I’ll capture these moments through the lens of my camera(s) to share here and through Flickr.

I struggled internally on whether I should mix any sort of personal entries with what has traditionally been a blog focusing on my professional growth, knowledge and opinion. In the end I decided my creativity and inspiration affect my personal life as much as my professional life. I am very excited to reflect on the complete journey a year from now.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

As a child I really enjoyed the excitement of an Advent Calendar during the holidays. My mother would always purchase one for my sister and I, and to this day the holiday feels incomplete unless I have one.

That yearly tradition of waking up, opening the calendar, and receiving a nice little gift or chocolate was a daily routine until Christmas.

Enjoy the tradition with an Advent Calendar for Web designers and developers. Check out 24 Ways, a nice little dose of daily goodness for the holidays.

I’ve never thought I would say I need an assistant. But I realize I just have too much information flowing through me these days and it is incredibly hard to keep it all organized. I’ve thought about getting an intern at work or an online virtual assistant.

Virtual Bunny Assistant

It seems so egotistical, but I am considering it. Has anyone had any luck with the virtual assistants? If so, at what cost? I’ve seen some as low as $9 / hour.

If not, I need one of these cute little bunnies, the Nabaztag. It can read my e-mail, RSS feeds, and even tell me if my Yahoo! stock is up or down. I am so tempted to get one for the awesome geek factor. They seem pretty cool. Anyone out there own one? Is it worth the money?

Or maybe I just need a real life assistant dressed in a bunny costume. Hmm, that is so politically-incorrect I probably shouldn’t even mention it. But lets face it, it would be kinda cool.

What is on the night stand or book shelf of Dennis Jenders? I thought I’d share my personal favorites (which I’ll update infrequently) as well as a list of links to what others are reading. Please share your thoughts, links, and favorites through the comments.

Good to Great
by Jim Collins

Making the transition from good to great doesn’t require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come.

The Design of Sites: Patterns for Creating Winning Web Sites
by Douglas K. van Duyne, James A. Landay, Jason I. Hong

The definitive reference for the principles, patterns, methodologies, and best practices underlying exceptional Web design. If you are involved in the creation of dynamic Web sites, this book will give you all the necessary tools and techniques to create effortless end-user Web experiences, improve customer satisfaction, and achieve a balanced approach to Web design.

And, here is a list of links that share what others are reading as well.

• Adaptive Path