Top social media entrepreneurs in shipping

By Ryan Skinner (email)

These are the ones to watch on the social media scene when it comes to shipping...

To too many people in the marine industries, social media is what you call those pages in TradeWinds full of pictures of shipping magnates taken at diverse cocktail parties in Monaco or Hong Kong. That's a shame:

• Social media and blogs are the 4th most popular pastime on the Internet, beating personal email
• 64% of marketers use social media over 5 hours a week; 39% over 10 hours a week
• 80% of companies use, or plan to use, LinkedIn as their primary recruiting tool

For more of this stuff, look here, or here. Nay-sayers, be warned: Not only is this thing here to stay, it's going to get bigger.

Sadly for social media in this industry, many of the top shipping media titles were very slow to get off the mark, and their use of it is still relatively unsophisticated. That vacuum, however, has created opportunity for some go-getters, who have built themselves up in this new media environment.

These are the leading individuals, as I see them, in social media in the shipping industry. All are men, 7 of 8 work in the UK or US, and many of them focus more on the life of the mariner than the career of the maritime professional. I predict that this will change, as the industry catches on to the value of social media.

Hopefully these, and others like them, will pioneer this great channel for opinions and information into broader usage in the industry.

1. John Konrad - the authoritative editor-in-chief of the gcaptain blog, gcaptain twitter feed and gcaptain facebook profile is also co-founder of Unofficial Networks - a unique consultancy dedicated to social media in the shipping industry.
2. Brett Keil - the SVP for sales at the Maritime Executive is seemingly everywhere in shipping social media, and his magazine surely benefits from it. The Maritime Executive LinkedIn group, which he owns, and the Maritime Industry Group, which he manages, are among the best in the industry. I believe he's to thank for Maritime Executive's drive into pod-casts and better Internet visibility.
3. Gaspare Marturano - Mr. "2,300+ connections" is a prolific twitterer and LinkedIn networker for his Mad Mariner publication, which features over a dozen blogs and a weekly podcast.
4. James Tweed - Already profiled in this blog, Tweed features the most professional shipping podcasts out there. He's also running Coracle, which is bringing new concepts to training and e-learning in shipping.
5. Marius Popa - Our first non-media type on this list, Popa owns the popular Maritime Group in LinkedIn. He's a naval architect who loves to discuss shipping topics in LinkedIn and elsewhere.
6. Dennis Bryant - This retired USCG admiral produces a daily blog that is a must-read for new regulatory moves in the maritime world.
7. Remco J. I. De Zeeuw - One of the few on this list NOT working in the US or UK, De Zeeuw is manager for a ship brokering company (IMC Ship brokers), and uses his blog, LinkedIn and Twitter feeds frequently to push his business and news in his (open) network.
8. Bob Couttie - The writer of Maritime Accident Casebook, Couttie spreads the safety gospel through his own blog, a twitter feed and affiliation with Konrad's gcaptain blog.

   

Granted, there are other active figures in the social media of shipping who hide behind their organisation, such as the people who run Amver's and Hydro International's social web presence. Keep your eyes on this blog for an upcoming list of maritime companies who make the best use of social media to drive their brands!

Did I miss somebody who should definitely be on this list? Send a comment and propose him or her!

Comments

[twitter.com/jtweed]

Thank you for including me on your list Ryan.
I believe that you are quite right about the growth of social media in the shipping industry.. The industry is going increasingly digital!
One other person for your 'keep an eye on' list is John Watton of ShipServ: I saw him yesterday at the TechCrunch Europe event yesterday - yes, there were 2 shipping people at TechCrunch - and they have some innovative ideas over there.

[Ryan]

I'm not going to give anything away, but I believe that John Watton/ShipServ will be on the list of maritime companies who make the best use of social media to drive their brands (coming either next week or the following week).

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=556488944]

Thanks Ryan. I feel honored to be in such great company.

Thanks to social media, Coracle and The Maritime Executive joined forces to produce the MarEx Podcast, earlier this year.

LinkedIn has helped us increase our circulation throughout the World. Also, it has increased the traffic to our website and visitors to our booths at tradeshows. If find it an invaluable tool in today's business climate.

[Sean]

Very interesting article!
LinkedIn is a great resource that is really catching on.

[Bob Couttie]

Many thanks for noticing Maritime Accident Casebook. Every little helps when it comes to making seafarers safer.

[MARETEC Shipbrokers]

Great blog! - Freight rates and shipping costs are low at the moment and a lot of cargo ship, tankers and ferries are now for sale at quite reasonable prices. Great opportunity for improving safety by renewing the fleet and taking advantage of the low shipping costs.

[Ship Social]

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