For those who may not know AMVER (Automated Mutual Vessel Assistance Vessel Rescue System), it’s a unit of the United States Coast Guard that focuses on maritime safety and particularly rescues at sea. They also lead the way in using social media in the maritime world and government sector.
On the anniversary of the Titanic sinking, AMVER had a remarkable post on their blog which is a must maritime read. It included the this video.
Parody is the sincerest form of flattery and the above Scuttlebutt cartoon by Barb Patton captures the spirit of the social media work Ben Strong and Bev Howard do at AMVER (website/blog).
The US Coast Guard is doing a great job experimenting with social media and nobody does it better than AMVER’s Ben and Bev. They, along with a few other Guardians organized the USCG’s 1st Annual (?) PodCamp a few weeks ago and it was a great success. Here’s a link to my post about 5 highlights of the event.
Ben was recently interviewed on Marketing Over Coffee, one of the top social media podcasts, and you can listen to it here.
The USCG is fortunate to have Admiral Thad Allen, a leader who understands the importance of social media as a communication tool, at the helm. Listen to my Weekly Leader podcast episode 5 to hear Admiral Allen talk about leadership and social media.
Thanks Admiral Allen and AMVER for charting a course demonstrating how social media can be used effectively in a large organization and across the maritime industry!
So you’ve dreamed of the fame, riches and adoration of being a PodStar. Just send $49.95 $39.95 $19.95 $1.99 nothing to me and watch this video. I guarantee success or your money back. I can also help you get thousands of new Twitter followers every day too! ;-)
(screencast of my presentation for the great 2009 USCG PodCamp – warning 30+ minutes – best viewed full screen and HD)
Update September 26, 2010
Here are slides from my presentation at Podcamp Boston 5.
Check out these podcasts from from podcasters that participated in my session:
Well I’m not sure how I missed this video but surprises are good and this one made my day today. :-)
Link to the Amver post with the Herman Melville passage mentioned above.
Ben Strong leads the US Coast Guard’s Amver (Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System) unit. Amver has been saving lives since 1958 and their blog tells their great story. Make sure you check it out.
I interviewed Ben about Amver and other topics on Messing About In Ships podcast episode 36 ; make sure you listen to this too.
Not only does Ben lead Amver but he’s also on the leading edge of using social media in the maritime world and government sector. The above video is a great example of how Ben experiments with new communication tools. This must make his ultimate boss happy because when I interviewed USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen for the Weekly Leader podcast episode 5 he shared his thoughts about the United States Coast Guard’s commitment to using new technology in advancing their mission.
So, thanks Ben for the kind words about the Sea-Fever blog and the leadership work we do and Happy Belated Birthday to Herman Melville!
Sea-Fever Consulting LLC recently launched a new unit called seaz media which focuses on helping maritime and nonprofit organizations use social media to advance their missions.
One of our first projects was to create a web presence for the New Bedford Port Society, a small nonprofit organization that has been serving mariners and the local community continuously for nearly 180 years. The Port Society owns and maintains two of the most significant buildings in our nation’s rich maritime heritage: The Seamen’s Bethel and The Mariner’s Home.
To learn more about this project, check out the seaz me blog and visit the Port Society website.
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Earlier this week we launched a new venture called seaz media which will function as the social media unit under the umbrella of Sea-Fever Consulting LLC. We will focus our efforts on assisting maritime organizations, nonprofits and small businesses get their “feet wet” with social media. A companion blog called seaz.me was launched and hope you will visit it, subscribe and join in the conversation.
We’ve been actively engaged with social media for about 3 years and have worked on several pro-bono nonprofit projects through Sea-Fever. So it seemed like a good time to share our experience and knowledge.
Social media is still in it’s early days but if you lead a business or nonprofit organization you need to be thinking about developing a strategy to use these new communication tools and integrate them into your marketing mix. Communicating with and engaging stakeholders has never been more important than during the challenging economic times we face today. Don’t miss the boat; social media is here to stay. If you need help getting started, seaz media is here to help.
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(64 minutes)
Download MP3: Messing About In Ships podcast episode 32
Subscribe Via iTunes HERE
Shownotes @ Messing About In Ships blog
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The popular and always entertaining Proper Course blog has challenged sailing bloggers to submit their best 2008 posts. (Simply The Best) Although I am a sailor and do blog, technically Sea-Fever is not a “sailing” blog. But what the heck, maybe he won’t notice.
With 320 posts passing under the keel in 2008, the task of identifying my “best” was a bit daunting. There had to be a few worthwhile in the flotsam and jetsam of words that flow through this blog each week. I was tempted to submit my last post titled Sea(cret) Santa (4 Days Left): Sexy Women of Maritime Calendar because it seemed to be one of the more popular ones, especially among my saltiest readers.
In the end, I decided it was more appropriate to go with my “favorite” post because I felt the only honest judge of what’s “best” would be someone other than me. (Like Sea-Fever readers, perhaps?)
So my favorite post was Richard Branson Answers My Questions About Adventure Sailing and Business Part of the contest is to answer “Why this post is simply the best?” in 30 words so here it is:
This post is simply the best because it brought together all of my passions: sailing, leadership and social media. Sir Richard Branson answered my Twittered questions about sailing and leadership via audio and that was pretty cool!
Since this is my own blog, I can take more than 30 words. This post was really a convergence of my personal and professional interests and passions. It covered Sir Richard Branson failed attempt at setting the Transatlantic single hull sailing crossing record with his daughter and son aboard the yacht Virgin Money.
Richard Branson is definitely one of the more interesting global corporate leaders in the world today. He projects enthusiasm and optimism in nearly anything he undertakes. He embodies Jim Collins Good to Great principle of establishing “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” (BHAGs) and often but not always is successful in achieving them. He’s a confident risk taker who demonstrates resiliency when things don’t go as planned. It was a thrill to be able to have a short social media exchange with him.
The Transatlantic crossing sailing record for a mono-hull was held by the schooner Atlantic for over 100 years until it was smashed in October 2003 by Mari-Cha IV with a passage of 6 days 17 hours 52 minutes and 39 seconds. In order, to beat Mari-Cha IV, Virgin Money had to pull out all the stops and sail in challenging conditions at the front end of major weather system. It’s a high stakes battle between engineering technology, human intelligence and mother nature.
I am fascinated by how emerging technologies have an impact on the way we communicate and interact today. I’m particularly interested in how leaders use these technologies to distribute messages to advance their vision or cause. Virgin Money was posting video to YouTube in the middle of their challenge of the transatlantic crossing record. In addition, Richard Branson actually began using Twitter from the vessel to update followers on their progress and after turning back he sent out a call for questions about the adventure. I sent him 3 questions which he answered via audio comments posted to his blog dispelling any thought that he might have delegated this to a PR hack or assistant. Listen here.
Pure and simple, this was my favorite post because it brought together leadership, sailing and social media and like I said earlier, that was pretty cool!
Tillerman’s challenge was a great catalyst to review my past year’s blogging efforts, think about what worked, what didn’t and how to chart a Proper Course for 2009. Thanks!
Thanks to all of the loyal Sea-Fever readers for your support in 2008. I wish you and your families a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Successful 2009!
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