I came across a job posting in the Portland area for TriMet. It’s a web coordinator position and to be quite honest, I would be perfect for the job. Exactly how perfect, that is the purpose of this blog post.

What would you Doo-Ooo-ooo for a TriMet job?

Not so much “what would I do,” but “what can I do,” or even better, “what do I bring to the table?” Now I know that these ideas are presented without knowledge of budgets or current regulations that have been imposed upon TriMet. So I present these as ideas only.

Looking at the current state of TriMet’s social media program, it appears they have a Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel, and Flickr stream. What’s missing? A central hub for all these spokes. TriMet needs a blog (and someone to write for it – hint, hint) that can serve up in-depth information. Let’s look at Google as an example. Google has a blog for almost every product. Members of the product team write about upcoming events, product updates, and long-form news items. Each of these items is controlled by Google. The blog is part of the corporate speak, it comes from Google. TriMet is lacking this central voice. What’s happening with the green line (long term happenings, not outages or reroutes), TriMet’s strategy for 2011, how is the TriMet “product” changing and evolving, what can we look forward to? These questions should be answered by the different experts at TriMet, but should be written in the same voice. You need a blogger who can be that voice.  The blog highlights content and is the hub of TriMet’s online marketing.

If that is the hub, what are the spokes? Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, TriMet.org, and even FourSquare will be the spokes that keep the wheel true.

TriMet.org is a very good public transportation website. You can get all the fare, route, interactive map, and outage info you need on a daily basis. You can also buy passes, t-shirts, and learn “How to Ride.” Overall, it’s a vast resource that suffers from information pile-on. You won’t have to redesign the TriMet website (yet) to get the word out about existing resources.

Facebook is where TriMet should get the majority of its customer feedback. When TriMet is considering a website redesign or planning for a new route, they will engage the Facebook audience. “What’s your favorite part of TriMet.org? What’s the most useful part of it? Where is our service lacking?” Facebook will be where TriMet engages with the customer (the riders). The amount of feedback will be staggering. Ask for engagement via Facebook.

Twitter is a broadcasting device. The reason there’s 140 character limit is so you don’t get wordy. People can and should follow TriMet on Twitter so they can get up-to-the-minute system status updates as well as send real-time information back to TriMet. This is not the place for long conversation. When I’m on the train and it stops unexpectedly, I should be able to look up the TriMet Twitter account and know why I am being delayed. In addition, by using HASHTAGS, riders (customers) can report their own “reason for delay.” How useful would the following re-Tweet be: “RT @user Green LN123, Stuck in some heavy traffic #trimet #delay”? TriMet sends this out on its Twitter feed and you can answer the question, “Where the hell is the Green LN123 bus at?” before it can even be asked. Broadcast via Twitter.

YouTube and Flickr are all about eye-candy. Currently the candy is made by the TriMet elves. Ask your community (via Facebook and the Blog) to submit their own TriMet photos and videos. Ask the community what types of video information they want to see, they go shoot that video. Start a video FAQ via YouTube. Promote the TriMet Flickr Tag on your blog, Facebook and Twitter and do a promotion for best photo. The cost to TriMet is near zero (minus for the web coordinator salary) including bandwidth. Portland is an artistic community and you are going to get some useful, cool, and crazy content. Dazzle with multimedia via YouTube and Flickr.

When I think of FourSquare, I think of location-based fun. Checking into different businesses for points and badges. Guess what, TriMet is location-based too. Check-in at a stop and a message pops up. What is it? It’s a clue, telling you to go to the next check point. Where? Only friends of TriMet (FourSquare friends that is) will know. Take a picture (Geo-tagged of course) of the start/end of each rail line, win a prize. Check-in to every stop on a certain line, win a prize. Use your Blog and Facebook pages to promote and organize a super-check-in (it’s a rare FourSquare badge). Location based marketing is just getting started, TriMet can be on the cutting edge.

I hope you can see why you need to (at least) interview me in detail for the Web Coordinator position. If you don’t work for TriMet but still enjoyed the blog post, please tell a friend and don’t forget to add the HASHTAG #hiremontez and #trimet. You can also leave feedback below.

Another week has passed already…? This week I am coming to you from Chuck’s Place in Lake Oswego, OR. As I mentioned last week, I will be moving backwards through my life in these post.

The shortest answer I have to the question “How did you end up in Portland Oregon?” is “I moved here to be with a very special person.” She is funny, witty, creative, charming, and all the other things a man seeks in a lady. She is what has brought me to the Pacific Northwest and she has been nothing but supportive of my time here. We travel trough the city each week like tourist in a far away land. Each restaurant, coffee house, or neighborhood is an experience no other person has yet to enjoy. Although she is someone I have known for sometime and we have dated in the past, I can’t help but feel that I lost several years of “happy time” due to my own selfish nature. All in all, I know that everything that has brought me to this point in life was necessary for me to fully understand and appreciate exactly what is happening now.

Well hell, it’s been a long time since I have posted a blog entry. There is a lot to go over. I will tell you the story of my 2010, starting today, and moving backwards in time.

Today: I am in Portland, OR. Sitting inside Cloud Seven, drinking cappuccino, eating gluten-free pizza made with locally grown vegetables and cheese from milk that came from grass-fed cows. It’s like living in West Los Angeles, but the people are not showing off, they just like living like this. The sky is gray, but in 20 minutes, the sun will poke its head out, hit the snooze button, and pull the cloud covers back over the city.

If you haven’t been to Portland, you’re going to love it. If you have been to Portland, you miss it. It’s a city that gets under your skin. Each neighborhood is unique but made of the same ingredients, like a community of cupcakes. All have the basic elements, coffee house, organic sandwich shop, pizza place, bar, community park, and tattoo or book store. Then you add the frosting or filling of your choice. In the Pearl, you have modern and sleek new buildings with a clean streets, central park feel. While over on Hawthorne, you get more of a hippie, 60′s, San Francisco Summer of Love vibe. Overall, there are about a dozen hoods with everything in between.

So how did I end up here, sixteen hours north of Los Angeles, surrounded by trees, grass, seasons, and rain? That story is soon to follow. Until then, keep up with me on Twitter, FaceBook, or Flickr.