CEOs and Social Media: Zappos.com

I've always been a big fan of online shoe retailer Zappos.com (and not just because they always have my favorite pair of strappy three-inch heels available when everyone else seems to be out of them). During the past couple years Zappos.com has emerged as one of the shining examples of how a large company can successfully utilize social media to drive sales and increase customer engagement and service. In a world where many C-level execs haven't even looked at Twitter, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has redefined (or perhaps defined) how C-level executives should use social media to connect directly with their customers and employees. He has over a million followers on Twitter, his blog posts consistently get reposted and retweeted thousands of times a day and oh yeah, he's the CEO of a company that Amazon just purchased for almost a billion dollars. Amazing.

Obviously, not every CEO has the bandwidth and passion to follow in Tony's footsteps, but his commitment to social media has consistently pushed his company to the top of the customer service charts. His example is one to strive for, even if it seems unattainable.

You can read more about Tony here.

I Love Living in America Because...

The 4th of July. Wow. 2009 is officially 50% behind us, and America is officially about to celebrate with a day off, fireworks and picnics with their families and friends. My seven-year-old daughter just asked me what the 4th of July actually celebrated. So, I dusted off my 6th grade America History lesson and let her know that tomorrow, back in 1776, members of Congress ALL agreed to adopt the Declaration of Independence, which basically said the colonies (try explaining that one to a 2nd grader) were going to be separate from Great Britain. This Constitution still provides the legal roadmap for America and contains the coolest phrase around -- “all Men are created equal.” Of course, she immediately asked why girls weren’t equal, but I thought I would save this one for another rainy day in Denver.

What I didn’t remember is that Philadelphians marked the first anniversary of American independence with a spontaneous celebration, but Independence Day only became a true American celebration after the War of 1812. How’s that for a little history lesson before noon? Not bad for a PR gal…

The Gov Gab Blog Team always does a nice job in their daily blog updates and I found today’s post to be especially relevant (and the first time I have seen the word “rigamarole” used in a blog post, which I greatly appreciate).
Take a minute and finish the thought, “I love living in America because….” In the meantime, take a minute and read their blog post. You can also sign up to receive daily emails from their site.

http://blog.usa.gov/roller

I Love Living in America Because...
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:00:00 -0500
There are things that we all wish were better with our country. Like you, I think I pay too much in taxes (I have yet to meet a person who thinks he doesn't pay enough). I get monumentally annoyed and disgusted when our political leaders get caught doing unethical things. I get frustrated with the red tape and the rigamarole that seems to accompany some of my interactions with the government, and I get angry when I hear my tax dollars are occasionally wasted on stupidity.

It would be easy to sit and gripe all day about our government, but tomorrow is July 4th, a day we celebrate all that is good with our country. Our founding fathers risked their lives to declare their independence. They created this country on some basic principles that hopefully we all believe in even today. Throughout our history people have served and sacrificed for our country to advance the ideas of freedom of speech, equality, and representation. These are rights that many people in other countries don't have or are struggling to obtain.

There are many reasons for all of us to be proud of our country. I would like to see us all set aside the sniping and griping for this one day and think about why we appreciate living in the United States. Please express your heart-felt birthday wishes by sending in a comment. How would you finish this thought, “I love living in America because...”

I will get us started: “I love living in America because I work for a government that allows me to write blogs that are totally my own (complete with embarrassing stories and quirky details). I have the freedom to express criticisms about my government and no one calls me a traitor, slaps handcuffs on me, or throws me in jail for doing so.”

From all of us at GroundFloor Media, Happy 4th. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.