Dustin Plett

Yosemite (Taken with instagram)

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:04:16 -0400

Yosemite (Taken with instagram)

This little guy came to us from the asteroid belt. We touched it...

Sat, 26 May 2012 06:36:14 -0400

This little guy came to us from the asteroid belt. We touched it together. It was magical. (Taken with Instagram at Meteor Crater)

The Colorado River (Taken with Instagram at Hopi Point Grand...

Sat, 26 May 2012 06:28:17 -0400

The Colorado River (Taken with Instagram at Hopi Point Grand Canyon)

RV at the Hoover Dam (Taken with Instagram at Hoover Dam)

Sat, 26 May 2012 01:16:36 -0400

RV at the Hoover Dam (Taken with Instagram at Hoover Dam)

Michelle and I standin’ on a corner. (Taken with Instagram...

Wed, 23 May 2012 19:04:56 -0400

Michelle and I standin’ on a corner. (Taken with Instagram at Standin’ on The Corner Park)

Columns in Carlsbad Caverns (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:33:43 -0400

Columns in Carlsbad Caverns (Taken with instagram)

Foster Ranch Debris Field Marker - The Roswell Incident, 1947...

Sun, 20 May 2012 10:15:22 -0400

Foster Ranch Debris Field Marker - The Roswell Incident, 1947 (Taken with instagram)

Good to see a familiar face (Taken with Instagram at Port...

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:52:32 -0400

Good to see a familiar face (Taken with Instagram at Port Columbus International Airport (CMH))

…. (Taken with Instagram at Versace Mansion)

Tue, 08 May 2012 20:09:31 -0400

…. (Taken with Instagram at Versace Mansion)

90 miles to Cuba (Taken with Instagram at Fort Zachary Taylor...

Sun, 06 May 2012 17:20:45 -0400

90 miles to Cuba (Taken with Instagram at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park Beach)

Fountain Square (Taken with Instagram at Fountain Square)

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:35:58 -0400

Fountain Square (Taken with Instagram at Fountain Square)

Relief (Taken with instagram)

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:46:34 -0400

Relief (Taken with instagram)

Wednesday 6am Test

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:57:03 -0400

Test

Two guys working late video - TEST

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 02:09:33 -0400

Two guys working late video - TEST

The new mini-logo and Indy trucks.

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 20:26:34 -0400

The new mini-logo and Indy trucks.

When will politicians start acting more like community managers?

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:40:36 -0500

This is an idea that’s been rolling around my head for the last 24 hours, spurred by talks internally at ICUC, encouraged by some politically minded friends and egged on by continuous tweets from the Middle East calling for political reform.

Maybe it’s too big of an idea for a tumblr post but — why wouldn’t government build a private network giving each elected official a community with an account for each voting member inside their constituency? Each constituency and individual part of an overall network connecting all voters to see and understand the issues and interests of other constituencies and voters across the country.

Put aside the issue of technology limitations (not that limitations exists), security issues (not that one exists), and the issue of the government trying to coordinate this (good chance this would be an issue). Put aside fears of corruption, of new world orders, and of government apathy and entertain this thought with me.

It would make information sharing incredibly efficient, vertically and horizontally. It would make acknowledging concerns of the voting public unavoidable, and it would allow everyone to provide feedback on every decision.

Imagine, if through a secure and verifiable network everybody had the ability to vote on every issue. No matter how trivial the issue was to me it would undoubtedly be very important to someone, somewhere, and they would have input - the exact person who should have input.

If you think about the system in place now the only reason we have “representatives” to represent us is because it was impossible to give everyone a seat in parliament. Social media has the power right now to give everyone a seat.

Someone suggested this could lead to the end of politicians. Although at times this seems like a great idea I think that’s a stretch for the same reason you can’t automate every aspect of social media - it’s not social without people socializing.

Some people suggested this would lead to chaos as uninformed people made bad decisions. Is this any different than the current situation - in all seriousness? I think if everyone could participate in making a bad decision, we the public, would learn from our mistakes much quicker as opposed to blaming those on the hill who feel a world away.

Imagine protesting. A group of 10,000 people united against a policy without having to leave their homes, united under a “group page” with a clearly outlined point of view and one cohesive message. Impossible to ignore, bringing light to a situation many others had possibly never considered or were unaware of.

Imagine if a governments around the world had similar systems and we could interact with the people our trade agreements and policies affected? What would be different?

Utopia or dystopia? Anarchy or true democracy? Scary? Inspiring? If nothing other than an interesting thought it’s worth thinking about.

The view from the backside of Mont Tremblant

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 12:39:33 -0500

The view from the backside of Mont Tremblant

Why agencies need to listen before they speak Working in business development means you’re on the...

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:30:38 -0500

Why agencies need to listen before they speak

Working in business development means you’re on the front lines of your company. It means you’re responsible for generating revenue, growing your company and personal brand, and ensuring the market place is aware of and understands your offering. But, it also means you’re the person who gets to hear “no” or the many variations of it.

I reach out to people all day, every day. The reason I reach out is generally the same – I see an opportunity to help a potential client do something better and more efficiently. If I didn’t genuinely believe this, I couldn’t do my job. That’s why the “no” is so frustrating – because I “know”, with 100 per cent certainty, that when I pick up the phone to call I can help. As I talk or after the initial meeting it sometimes becomes clear we will never work together but for that moment before I hear that voice on the other end I’m confident we can.

Working in the social media space has some distinct challenges. Working on the very cutting edge of social media has some very, very distinct challenges. We are not the latest technology or the latest service, we have been around for nearly a decade, but the services we provide are best paired with a mature social media strategy or an agency with a firm grasp on how to use social media.

That’s why recently when I spoke to a public relations agency and they said that working together was likely not an option, I pressed them for an explanation. Obviously I believed the opposite was true. I had looked at their website, studied their offering, and knowing we have worked with hundreds of other shops like theirs I wanted to understand where they were coming from.

“We don’t believe social media is relevant to our clients,” is what I was told.

I had my answer. Although I saw potential they did not and that’s too bad. But is this a negative response from a sales point of view? It could be looked at as that. But I prefer to look at it as a huge help. I now know that I will never spend another minute pursuing an audience with this agency’s team. If this is still their thinking in the first month of 2011 I predict they won’t be around to see the first month of 2012. And if they are, they still won’t be working in social media.

The greatest answer I hear is of course “yes”. Recently I was in a meeting and my contact at the agency described his position but then added it was also his job to stay abreast of new services, tools and technologies relevant to his industry. What an idea. Along with reading the latest blogs, tech articles, and following industry leaders, he took the time to sit down with vendors and truly understand their company to ensure he wasn’t missing anything valuable.

Imagine next time a salesman, business development woman, or a peddler calls on your office, you have someone designated to hear them out. Evaluate their offering. And arrange a follow up if necessary. The efficiency here would be incredible.

You could eliminate the repeat callers by saying, “we are not interested, I have spoke with the parties relevant to your product and although I can understand why you called we are in agreement it is not a fit,” thus saving everyone’s time. A good salesman will take this as a hint that he is wasting his breath here.

You could actually encourage solicitation of vendors and benefit your organization by being more informed on what is out there, even on the peripherals of your business. A pitch is also a great way to network and meet new people who are working in your industry. Most vendors are more than willing to share with you who they are working with. This can provide insight into what your competitors or industry leaders are doing.

And lastly, you could avoid having to say ridiculous things like the agency above who felt social media had no benefit for their clients. I imagine this agency has turned down every vendor from day one and completely missed the changes happening around them.

Social media is changing fast. Any company having any success in this space is thriving in a torrent that has drowned companies use to the small streams of 10 years ago. Nearly everyone I’ve met in this space has been knowledgeable and well read on current trends, if they’re not, I likely don’t hear from them again. Listen to vendors, don’t be afraid of them. They are the nimble operations driving change by opening the doors to new possibilities for large companies and agencies. And trust me, even if you do say no at the end of it all, it won’t be the first time they’ve heard it.

My walk to the gym on a snowy Wednesday morning.

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:32:02 -0500

My walk to the gym on a snowy Wednesday morning.

Photo Gallery: How to Take Camera Phone Pictures -- National Geographic

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:01:43 -0500

Photo Gallery: How to Take Camera Phone Pictures -- National Geographic