The Bailey Blog

OK, so it’s not going to be as entertaining as Saturday Night Live – well, at least not the original SNL, back in the days when it was still funny.

Nevertheless, my colleagues and I who are attending the Detroit Regional Policy Conference this year from today through Saturday will do our best to keep you posted on what’s going on in the land of fudge and manure. (I’m talking horses, here, so keep your political innuendoes to yourself.)

Technology permitting (fingers crossed – big time) I will endeavor to send regular tweets about what I’m seeing, hearing and, yes, smelling, on the island via Twitter. You can follow my activities even if you aren’t a Twitter subscriber by visiting http://twitter.com/aribadler.

We also intend to offer blogs and maybe even photos as events warrant. We don’t want to inundate folks with too fast a flow of information, but we thought it was a great way for those not attending the policy conference to get a taste for what happens up there. And for those who are attending, hey, follow my tweets anyway. Who knows, maybe there’s an agenda item or networking event you’ll suddenly realize you should probably be attending.

No matter who you are or where you’re at, keep up with all things Mackinac via John Bailey & Associates at www.baileyblog.com/mackinac.

Fudge, here I come!

Apparently, Meijer is running a promotion on child booster seats due to a change in Michigan law to take effect on July 1, that requires all children under 4′9″ to be fastened into a safety seat.

Now, I didn’t find this out by reading the news or watching a report on TV or by browsing Meijer.com or visiting the Meijer store on my way home from work – I learned it on Twitter.

Twitter is a microblog site that social media experts, journalists, marketing and PR professionals, bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, self-proclaimed geeks, fellow information junkies and now stores like Meijer, are using to get their fix of the latest bits of information as they happen in real-time. However, Twitterers not only receive the information, they share information and create original content in 140 characters or less.

On Twitter, I am @shannonpaul and Meijer is @meijer. You can also find the CEO of online shoe retail giant Zappo’s at @zappos and Comcast also has a customer outreach profile established on Twitter @comcastcares. By the way, regular Bailey Blogger Ari Adler also has a Twitter profile; @aribadler.

Whether you choose to call it new media, social media, or just plain media, the way people consume information will only continue to evolve toward a higher level of interactivity. The movement away from passive consumption has already taken hold in almost every consumer market. Joe Public has the same access to channels previously held exclusive to media industry insiders. Information no longer travels on a one way street and those who have something of value to share stand to reap the largest rewards.

The conversation is already well underway. Are you involved in the exchange, or are you simply trying to shout your message louder than those you’re trying to reach?