At the moment, I’m an index-finger typer but just got schooled on how outdated that makes me look. Two-thumb typing here I come. This will also be a great test as to whether you can teach an old dog new tricks!

 

So why do I even care? Well, a friend of mine recently commented on my index-finger-pecking, and he was a bit shocked by this “senior” phone habit of mine.

I did some research, and he is indeed right. How you hold your phone and which fingers you use to type, signify not only age but how tech-savvy you are and while I’m no tech genius, I do pride myself on being reasonably up-to-date.

I am now fully on board with updating my phone usage style. However, it won’t be easy. After just a few days, I am finding it a constant struggle to make this change. I did add my thumb to my touch ID, so we’ll see if that helps. But changing a ten-year habit is not easy.

While on the subject of tech habits and norms, I also want to share an amazingly informative (and hysterically snarky) article on Silicon Speak from The Guardian. And in the context of today’s post, also adding info on the top-ranked social-media-using CEOs. Doug McMillon of Walmart (one of my favorites because he does his own posts) ranked #1. I bet he’s a two-thumb typer even though he is 52 (which surprised me – he looks like he’s barely in his 30s).

 

Read on below.

 

Great article from The Guardian on “How to Speak Silicon Valley.”

Worth a read in its entirety but in the meantime, here are a few of my favorites.

• Facebook (n) Your mom’s favorite social media platform.
• mission (n) – What separates a tech bro and a finance bro: the tech bro works for a company that has a “mission.” Usually, something grandiose, utopian, and entirely inconsistent with the company’s business model. Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected; Facebook’s business model is to sell ads by dividing people into incredibly narrow marketing profiles.
• pivot (v) – What tech startups do when they realize scaling is not a business model without a monetization strategy.
• privacy (n) – Archaic. The concept of maintaining control over one’s personal information.
• runway (n) – The amount of venture capital a startup has left before it has to either monetize its product, pivot or start selling the office furniture. “I can’t believe Topher spent half our runway on a Tesla Roadster.”
• Snapchat (n) – Facebook’s research and development department.
• tech bro (n) – A US-born, college-educated, Patagonia-clad male whose entry-level salary at one of the FAANG companies was at least $125,000 and who frequently insists that his female co-workers give him high-fives. Typically works in product management or marketing. Had he been born ten years earlier, he would have been a finance bro instead.
• Twitter (n) – A mid-sized business with outsized importance due to its three primary users: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and journalists. A useful tool for journalists to gauge public opinion by talking to other journalists, and for Elon Musk to provoke lawsuits and federal investigations into security fraud.

 

Why Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart was named most connected CEO

As Walmart’s CEO for the last five years, McMillon has embraced social media, using it as a place to represent the company and to show the world what the daily life of a chief executive looks like. He is almost 100% hands-on when it comes to his social media posts.

Business Insider checked out his three main social media accounts to see why he earned the top spot and what other chief executives can learn from his techniques.

Here are the details I found most impressive and worth copying. But the entire BI article is worth a read whether you’re a high-level exec, an entrepreneur, a startup, a freelancer, an artist – anyone doing business and wondering how, and if, you should be doing more on social can take their cues from what McMillon is doing so well.

 

McMillon has a detailed Wikipedia page.

• While most CEOs are hard to track down online, McMillon has an informative Wikipedia page.
• The page features a high-quality photo, a detailed description of his early life, work history (most of it at Walmart), education, and personal life.

 

 

McMillon is verified on his accounts.

McMillon opted to use Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, but not Twitter (although Walmart itself has a Twitter account).

The Brunswick CEO study mentions that verification was one of the factors they used to determine which CEOs had a stronger social media presence.

 

 

 

McMillon spends most of his social media time posting photos and videos on Instagram.

According to the study, “People are three times more engaged with Connected Leaders on Instagram than Facebook and Twitter.”

 

• McMillon has chosen both Instagram and Facebook as his main social media accounts, and posts there more regularly than on LinkedIn (the latter was the preferred platform of other CEOs on the list).
• For his 31.5K Instagram followers, McMillon chooses to tell personal stories that show what he’s really like. In this post, for example, he shared an old photo and a new one — the classic “then and now.”

 

Almost every post shows McMillon visiting Walmart branches and chatting with employees.

His Instagram posts feature Walmart employees from around the globe. The employee in the green shirt standing with McMillon is a store manager in Shenzhen, China.

 

 

Facebook is where McMillon reaches his widest audience.

 

• According to the study, 44% of CEOs have a LinkedIn presence, but only 45% of those CEOs actually post on it.
• Part of McMillon’s success is that he uses social media daily, which gives him the opportunity to promote his business more than any other CEO.

 

He’s written five articles on LinkedIn as of June 2019.

 

 

Bottom Line.

Really impressed by Doug McMillon. I see him as a transformative CEO. His embrace – and usage – of social media is first-rate.

For me, though, today will be another slog at changing my phone-typing behavior. Those thumbs have never had such a workout before. Thank you, Elliott, for the insight – and for adding a new challenge to my life!!