Business Innovators
Company Forces Employee to Delete LinkedIn Profile
I received a disturbing email from a friend of mine. I have changed the message and obscured any personal or employer reference for obvious reasons. Due to the recent FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc) ruling (see below) I will have to take down my LinkedIn profile. The finance industry is so far behind the curve on social media communications it may be a while before my profile is back.
Little Social Media Education Goes A Long Way
Jeremiah Owyang has another research report out about the readiness and abilities of companies to deal with social media crisis. The full report and slides are embedded below. I won't go through an extensive review of the report because you will find a lot of commentary on the report at all the usual places but here was my key takeaway Educate and empower your employees or else The Altimeter report shows that companies that have strong social media policies in place, an internal staff,...
The Key to Innovation is Failure
Fail Cheap, Fail Often In today's exponentially competitive environment the key for a company's survival is innovation. It doesn't have to be the ground breaking innovation like the big tech companies strive for everyday. It's the small daily innovations that cause that aha moment in each of us. Innovation comes from creating friction within your organization. Not the kind of friction that leads to the Alpha Males in the room to jump up and down and bang their fists against the desk.
Raising Digital Natives: 'Do Grandma and Grandpa Have a Blog?'
If you haven't heard (it's not for lack of me trying), I'm moving my family to London for 2 years. As part of the transition I bought all of my kids tablets that they could hold all of their music and books on and that they could also access email, skype and their own blogs. It has been an interesting experience, especially since my kids are all at such interesting ages.
My Advice to PR on How to Communicate With Marketers
I know you were expecting some answer like use more data or numbers or talk slow, but one of the biggest problems I've seen when PR tries to integrate with marketing is that they aren't presenting the message right. When I first started at HP in a Global Marketing Unit (GBU) I wrote my first report in Word. I thought I had committed a cardinal sin. My manager told me to put it in PowerPoint and never do that again.
Market Recovery Will Only Accelerate Marketing Trends
Levy's prediction is just one of many, especially from the media industry. But I can't help but to think that this is just market bolstering from the people who have the most to loose gain. Publicis CEO Levy Advertising Recovery Starts Next Month paidContent Levy and others are really smart and I value their opinion but unless you're willing to call not being in a free-fall I'm just not buying it. We may flatten but I don't think we can expect much market wide growth.
The Social Media Strategists Power Tools [Consumption]
Last month I gave you The Social Media Strategist Workout, which is the routine I follow to manage my social media activity throughout the day. In answering the question How I manage my level of activity and work and a family and all the other stuff I told you part of the answer was the routine and part of the answer was the tools I use. This post is specifically about the tools I use to sift through all the noise while I'm at work.
The Death of the Single Function Device?
I went and saw Despicable Me with the kids this weekend. (It's so fluffy ) Given the fact that I already hate commercials before the movies that aren't previews to other movies I was instantly skeptical of a commercial for a new product and had to wonder if it was obsolete the minute it launched. Introducing the V.Reader A single function kids reader that seems a lot like the LeapFrog devices some of you may be familiar with.
Can Aggregators Survive As Social Networks?
How dare you speak ill of Buzz I always find it interesting which posts I write get people worked up. It's rarely the ones I think it will be. My last post about Google Buzz got me some negative feedback. That's fine BTW I appreciate all feedback as long as its constructive. I didn't realize it until today but ReadWriteWeb and Mashable also covered the PostRank report I referenced. What I learned is that Google Buzz loyalists are a little sensitive. I don't blame them really.
Do social media professionals work harder than their peers?
Here's some scary stats * 29 of employees are fully engaged with work* 52 are not fully engaged* 19 are disengaged Len Kendal asked on Twitter I wonder how much poor performance got disguised as a result of the economy this year I wonder how much of that poor performance was because of the 71 of employees who were not fully engaged Re-orgs and layoffs (or even the rumor of layoffs) have a crippling effect on employees.
Social CRM: What Is It And Where Is It Going? [10 Links]
Earlier this week I shared 10 Links on Content Farms. As I said then When I'm *predicting the future* I find it helpful to look at the recent and recently past developments of an industry. I think sometimes us bloggers jump to quickly in to trying to provide our readers with the answers instead of helping to provide the right context first. Social CRM is a topic that comes up a lot and I get frequent questions about.
Social CRM is the First Step Towards Social Business and World Domination
What is Social CRM Is it a sales tool Is it a support tool The answer depends on your company and your business objectives. I can tell you this, Social CRM is not a Twitter key word search juxtaposed next to CRM data. (Sorry, personal rant.) And if you're wondering about the title, everything with me is about World Domination (more at the end of the post).
Where are the lunch lady blogs?
Where are the lunch lady blogs Often when I speak I like to pose this scenario Imagine that you are on a flight home and you get upgraded to first class. Now imagine that you end up sitting next to the CEO of a big company that's based in your home town. That company has recently missed their numbers and analysts are speculating what's going on inside the company and what they're going to do about it.
Think Before You Tweet: The Do Not Tweet List
Alternately named Loose Tweets Sink Fleets. To quote my good friend and colleague Jeremy Meyers Twitter is very conducive to posting without thinking. There are many instances of company and employee tweets gone wrong. A tweet can be a 140 character time bomb. Time and time again people have said things on Twitter that have blown up in their face.
The Life and Times of the Social Media Strategist
Being a Social Media Strategist is really tough. Half your job is doing things that no one has ever done before and the other half is teaching people how to do what you did because it's the only way to scale social media at your company without burning out your strategist. It requires you to take risks and make possibly career ending decisions on a daily basis . It's not for everyone just those of us that are a little bit crazy.
What Twitter Can Learn From @facebook About Using @twitter and Facebook
We talk a lot about how companies should use Twitter and Facebook but have you ever looked at how Facebook and Twitter use their own services What about how they use each others services Here's some quick stats On Twitter, Twitter has a verified account, well over 3 million followers and follow over 200 accounts On Facebook, Facebook has almost 8 million fans and posts very actively. On Twitter, Facebook has just over 205,000 followers and is following 51 accounts.
The Zombie Social Media Trilogy
On the WE Studio D, Thinkers & Doers blog this last week we posted the three part Zombie Media Trilogy. When we talk to companies we see a much bigger problem with social media adoption than just how do we get a blog, Facebook page or Twitter account started. The bigger problem is that no one seems to be looking at the much bigger problem of how do you truly create a scalable system to get the most out of social media.
Top 5 Web 2.0 Collaboration Tools
Blogs have changed the way we communicate and share information. While blogs are more like someone giving a presentation, they at least provide a great opportunity for Q&A. It amazes me how such a light weight CMS has such a huge impact on our lives. 2 Forums Forums are one of the few remnants left over from the dot bomb.
Managements Misguided Social Media Efforts
Most corporate employees I talk to lately are dealing with one of three scenarios They are trying to convince their managers that they need to be doing social media Their managers are on board with social media and are relying on them to put together a plan, they're not sure how to put together Their managers are pushing a social media plan or tactic that the employee is not comfortable with There are plenty of people talking blogging about points one and two.
Exerting Control At Your Customers Expense Will Not Save Your Business Model
The goal of a business is to make money. No disputes there. The best way to make money is to meet a market need. Sometimes that can be by first creating the need but that's not enough. In order to continue to meet that need you have to do a better job than any conceivable option . Things change, sometimes violently so. The minute your business has to create new rules (or lobby to create laws) or enforce rules (or those laws) because you're afraid you're losing control, you already lost.
Get Used To Twitter Buying Companies
So apparently some people are shocked that Twitter would buy a startup built on it's service. Really Hello does anyone remember Summize The Twitter search startup that Twitter bought and that became Twitter Search. Now Twitter's bought Tweetie, the leading premium Twitter iPhone app and made it Twitter for iPhone. Anyone notice a trend I know this is going to come off a s a one big I twold you so post, but maybe it is.
Forget Strategy: How do you Scale the Social Media Strategists
If you haven't noticed, social media is kind of a big deal right now. How social media is managed at companies is radically different than it was 1 2 years ago. Who owns social media strategy at your business If you're reading this there's a good chance you own at least own part of it. 1-2 years ago social media strategy was one of many jobs the social media strategist had to do (even though it was the job title we preferred).
Upstream vs. Downstream Social Networks: Content vs. Community
Many of us have said this and many of us still do. But we're running into a problem where there's so much content. Read Write Web founder, Richard MacManus, wrote an article recently pointing out that Facebook is becoming overwhelmed with 3rd party content. If you look at the right hands side of your new Timeline layout, you'll probably notice a lot of 3rd party apps featured above the fold.
Social Media Experience Is A Must Have For Marketing Jobs
In a recent client meeting the comment was made that they weren't hiring anyone new unless they also had social media experience. Not that they were hiring only people to do social media but that they ALSO had to have social experience. So in addition to whatever marketing job they were being hired for they also had to have some social media experience. And no this did not include personal blog, Twitter and Facebook. So all those Social Media Guru's on Twitter are excluded.
The 3 Types of Social Media Strategy
Do you have a social media strategy for your business Can you articulate what a social media strategy is Don't feel bad if you answered no. I've been meaning to write this post for a while and have talked around the issue a few times. If you think I talk a lot about social media here and on Twitter you should talk to me in real life. Over the last few months a few people have blogged about my thoughts around social media strategy that I haven't shared here.
What's your social media distribution plan?
I've been thinking a lot about the challenges the companies face with social media and using it for marketing. There are lot to be sure but there's one in particular that I haven't heard anyone talk about yet distributing your content. In the early days (a few years ago) making people aware that you had a company blog was easy just start one. 3-4 years ago when a major brand started a blog it was a big deal. Now starting a company blog is about just meeting the bar.
The Future of Social Media has Arrived! The War is Over!
The Future has Arrived We have reached the tipping point. 90 of US adults are online* 80 of US online adults participate in social media** Unless you are targeting the very poor and or the elderly, as marketers, you do not have to target those who do not participate in social media. Everything you create has to be social.Everything you do had better have social media at the heart of it. I am not saying it is the only thing you do. I am saying that everything you do had better be social.
Has Twitter driven Gmail to the #10 spot in Web visitors?
I'm pretty sure it's because so many early adopters are on Twitter and early adopters tend to use Gmail. And I don't know about you but I've been getting 20-30 new Twitter followers a day. Each time I get a new follower, I get an email. Of course half of those are spam, real estate investors, or online work from home, almost spam. Anyone who seems half way legit I follow back. Unfortunately half of the people I follow back send me an auto DM. This results in another email.
Social Media Should Not be Housed. No One Owns it.
No One Owns it. I get this question a lot lately. Who owns social media Or my personal favorite Where should social media be housed The answer is no one. No one owns it. There should not be a Social Media Department. Social media is hard for people to understand because it defies our normal categorizations. Is it a technology Yes and no. Is it a philosophy a methodology or a strategy Yes, yes and no.
5 Alternatives to Ghost Blogging
Ghost I know ghost blogging is a polarizing topic. I saw the question pop up again last week on BlogChat. I personally abhor the practice. Now I'm not a total purest. I don't think the author has to do every step and I have no problem with someone editing their posts. But I think straight ghost blogging is unimaginative and lazy. But instead of getting on my soap box and preaching why I think it's bad I thought I'd take a more constructive approach and give you some alternatives.
Being a Social Media Ninja
I've blogged here almost every day but not yesterday. But I did post, A LOT not just here. Why Well because I was putting into practice some of the things I've been talking about here and consulting on with my client. I actually got to get my hands dirty, something I don't do much of lately when I'm just doing strategy for clients. I got to help launch Microsoft's first store yesterday. I'll be down in Callifornia next week opening the Mission Viejo store too. It was a great experience.
Social Media [Insert Made Up Buzzwords Here]
How to really talk about (social media marketing) books you haven't read. Why do we have buzzwords What service do they fill Why do so many people complain about them Every sub-culture and every movement needs it's own language. It doesn't matter if it's an art movement, a political party or a fortune 100 company. Having a unique language creates a sense of community and servers as a way to keep others out. This is actually a very important part of community development.
Study Finds Facebook Pages Can Increase Customer Loyalty by 36%
First off I have to say that I haven't been a big fan of Alltop. I like the idea and have a ton of respect for Guy Kawasaki but I've just personally never found anything useful there. That is until today. Alltop released Alltop.Futurity. How to stay on top of research from universities Duke University, Stanford University, and the University of Rochester created a consortium of universities called Futurity.
Despite the Promise of Social Networks Local Businesses Struggle with Marketing ROI
I have long felt that social media was grossly underutilized by local businesses. Unlike most corporate social media efforts local businesses have the ability to solidify Online relationships with real life relationships. Twitter seems to be breaking that barrier faster than any social network to date. Facebook ,like MySpace before it, has been employed but has yet to demonstrate it's effectiveness.
Don't Read the Paper, I Read Twitter
Image via Wikipedia I write this post knowing I run the risk of kindling the wrath of my good friend David Heller ( muchosalsa). (BTW I'm *mostly* talking about the physical format of the newspaper in this post) But I have never subscribed to a newspaper in my life. On my way down to Austin last night on the red-eye with David Patton ( spincycle3) I was at a loss with what to do with this stack of newspapers he brought on the plane. The only value I see in the newspapers is passive discovery.
The New Social CMO
Four years ago, way back in 2007 I wrote about a Clayton Christensen article Finding the Right Job for Your Product. Clayton Christensen is of course famous for his groundbreaking book The Innovator's Dilemma The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business. Way back then in 2007 the average CMO lasted 23.5 months, just under 2 years and 75 of all new products or services introduced by established companies failed. Wow, talk about a hard job.
CIO.com tries to explain Twitter to your Boss's Boss's Boss
Image by RubyJi via Flickr For most of you, CIO magazine is not very relevant. But for us B2B Enterprise IT marketers this is a pretty big deal. If you're selling IT to the Enterprise, the CIO (or your companies equivalent) is the most important person you want to influence. And CIO is a highly read magaizine in these circle. Not only does CIO's online property have an article on Twitter, they have a whole series on Twitter Twitter How to Get Started Guide for Business People - CIO.
The Evolution of New Media, Web 2.0, Social Media, Social Business: A Brief History of Everything
So what is Social Media We know what it is when we see it. We can give you examples of social media but you'll be hard pressed to get a very satisfactory answer out of anyone. Is it the opposite of antisocial media Not exactly. Is it a medium Is it a movement Is it a technology The very unsatisfactory answer is yes, to all three questions.
How important is ejuice choice to your lifestyle?
The interesting thing about a vaping lifestyle is that it's easy to just sweep all differences under the rug as a simple matter of preference. It's very simple to look at somebody's choice or color of shoes and clothing style as essentially just coming out of their personal background that if you come from a certain background, you tend to make certain decisions and while to some extent this is accurate, it really reduces people's individuality because we are ultimately a product, not just of...
My New and Improved GTD Moleskine Hack
I've been using some sort of a notebook or paper planner most of my life. For the last 6 years I've been a very dedicated Moleskine user. I try other notebooks but I keep coming back to the Moleskine. Maybe it's just self validation but I absolutely believe there is a direct correlation between ones ability to think big thoughts and writing in a notebook. There's plenty of historical evidence to back me up here The Pocket Notebooks of 20 Famous Men.
Walking the Razors Edge
Social media workers walk a dangerous line everyday. Everyday they walk into a battlefield not knowing what fate awaits them. One wrong word, one misinterpreted email, a delayed response to a blog comment any of these things can start a fire storm that could ruin the reputation of the company or the social media worker. You'll notice that I haven't used the word marketer yet. That's because these dangers exist whether you work on internal or external communication efforts.
Public Diplomacy Via Innovative Social Media
The first speaker that I was able to see at the Social Media for Defense and Government Conference was Dr Mark Drapeau. Mark is the Director, Innovative Social Engagement, Microsoft US Public Sector What follows is my near real time interpretation of what Mark spoke on but I would add that I probably got some of this wrong and if it's not wrong it's probably totally out of context . Mark's background PhD in Animal behavior.
Where are all the good long tail blogs
Hell, my license plate even says BLOGGER (pretty sure I won't be able to score than one when I move to Seattle). My biggest complaint is finding fresh new voices with fresh new ideas. Marketing and Tech blogs have been around just as long as blogging itself. There are no shortage of blogs on these topics. We all read the top blogs. Everyone shares the same links to the same blogs (unless it's your own).
You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Work In Social Media But It Helps
One of the reasons I've been so attracted to social media is that's it's been a magnet for entrepreneurs and early adopters. Over the last 5+ years that I've been doing this, nearly every person I've met working in this space is an entrepreneur. And usually totally insane. You'd have to be really. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland The Mad Hatter Have I gone mad Alice Kingsley I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret.
On Being an Influencer and Marketing as Media
If you've hung around in PR circles you've heard this phrase. But what does it mean in today's digital age Many of you may be familiar with TwitterGate the incident where TechCrunch posted internal documents from Twitter after someone hacked into their Google Apps account. Many people called foul. TechCrunch obviously realized the kind of traffic this would create. What happened a few weeks later many people may not be familiar with.
You are Crazy not to Measure the ROI of Social Media!
You're Crazy This post is dedicated to all capitalists working inside corporations or organizations that are interested in maximizing and increasing profits. For some unknown reason the ROI debate has sprung up. Not the healthy what is the best way to measure social media but the should we even measure social media debate. Seriously Is this 2007 again I thought we got past that.
Bookmarking tool Diigo makes blogging easier
I personally think it's one of those services that has never received the traction it deserved. While Diigo is an amazing research and collaboration tool, it's work stream features make it invaluable to me. In fact there are so many things Diigo does I think that's part of the reason it hasn't gained more traction, it's overwhelming.
The Evolution of Society, Madness and Social Media
You have probably heard about Nicholas Carr, or if you don't know him by name you may be more familiar with his, much talked about article, Is Google Making us Stupid. Carr, a long time tech writer, knows how to get a rise out of the tech audience, that's for sure. Carr turned the article into a book The Shallows What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. I instantly wrote Carr off as a complete idiot that had no clue what was going on and was desperately clinging to the past.
Blogger burnout? Give up or dig in.
Welcome to the watered-down reality of all that you loved. If you read many blogs you'll notice a general theme. It started with the A-listers and is echoing through the second tier. (of course this theme goes back a long way) Bloggers are getting burnt out. Not from content overload, not even because of all the noise. This is a classic early adopter response to main stream acceptance.
Top 5 Predictions for the Next 5 Years in Business Social Media
Image by Tac Anderson via Flickr In this post I take a predictive look at social media and its effects on the future of business and communications In a future post I'll look at social media and the future of Journalism Publishing and Marketing. Playing futurist is always fun. Nobody can prove you wrong (at least not yet). But history has shown that even when we're right we tend to get our time lines off.
3 Reasons Why Social Media is Killing Search
The two main drivers of search are, news and finding something you already know exists. I recently wrote about how in an apples to oranges comparison bitly was challenging Google. One commenter thought I was a loon or a complete idiot for trying to compare the two. In all fairness I may not have explained why the two are worthy of being compared. bitly and Google both have the same purpose deliver you to a useful website. That's it.
If It Doesn't Happen On Twitter It Probably Doesn't Matter
I attended the Social Media Conference North West in Mt Vernon yesterday and the final speaker was Brad Nelson from Starbucks. What impressed me the most about Brad was his passion for this space and his use of LEGO pictures. Brad's enthusiasm is obviously contagious because when I posted on Twitter that he was speaking I had more than a few people ask me to post about his session. Of most interest to me was Starbucks Twitter centric approach (hence the title of the post).