social media Archive

Recently, Mashable hosted a Web Faceoff Series in which participants were asked to vote for their favorite networking site: Facebook or Twitter. Facebook won 48% to 40% but this was before a new contender was released into the online arena, Google Buzz.

On first glance, Google Buzz may just look like another copy-cat of Twitter, but upon further investigation, you may discover that the Buzz is more like a Twitter-Facebook superhero, combining the strengths of the two, without any of the weaknesses.

Unlike Twitter, Google Buzz is not restricted by the 140 characters that drive so many of us crazy, and like Facebook, links attached to the post will include a summary and image. Photo sharing is made easy by allowing simple incorporation of Flickr and Picasa photos and videos. Like Twitter and Facebook, Buzz is available on mobile, and yes, all of your information can be private or public, as you wish. Of course, the most compelling aspect of Google Buzz is the same as what compels us about Gmail, Gchat, and all things Google: simplicity with very few bugs. Since anybody who is anybody has a Gmail account, it seems logical that this social network will be the one to send Facebook and Twitter into the cyber junkyard of Friendster and MySpace. But that’s up for debate.

As failure-proof as Buzz seems to be, there are some major obstacles it will face. Although Buzz has already overtaken Twitter, it still has to contend with Facebook. According to a poll taken in September 2009 by Nielsen Online, users spent an average of 2 hours a month on Google, which was 3 times less than the time they spent on Facebook. Mashable is also currently taking a poll asking their audience who would win in a fight among Facebook, Twitter, and the Buzz, and the results so far show Facebook as the clear winner. A major issue against Google Buzz, with good reason, has been privacy. Because Google Buzz has access to your entire email contact list, it automatically follows friends you’ve most interacted with. But just because you always email your mom, that doesn’t mean you want her following your Buzz updates. However, Google has been extremely fast in responding to concerns and has outlined ways to privatize your Buzz posts or turn it off completely.

So what’s your opinion on Google Buzz? Below are a few thoughts from the RFI community.

“Google Buzz is seemingly the ultimate and most transparent social network but I can see the issue of hyper- transparency. Some users are uncomfortable with putting it all out there, and for Buzz to be maximized, it needs to know everything from interests to personal contacts.” Megan Levi, Social Media Analyst

“Good to see that Google is jumping into the social networking racket under the radar but launching Buzz the way they did feels slightly sneaky. For instance, before they fixed it they had all of your contacts pre-loaded as your ‘network’. Unfortunately this is made visible to anyone else in your network. That feels like a bit of a violation of my address book, and I was especially pissed off when I saw that everyone had access to my 10-year old’s email address. I figured out how to turn it off but it was a big blunder on Google’s part big time. It even put political dissidents and people in harm’s way.” Scott Schneider, Director of RFI Studios

“Personally, when I update Buzz, it’s a completely different update than Facebook or Twitter. This is going to people I know – and people that I know well. Here I feel I can really tell what’s going on in my life, without feeling like I am over-sharing… it’s not a 1000+ people that I might not even know.” Renee Barone, Senior Interactive Strategist

“Email is the most well-established, ubiquitous, open, and interoperable social networking platform that has ever existed.  With Wave, Voice, and now Buzz, Google is tearing down the walls between historically separate digital/social channels – and melding them into a seamless flow of content and conversation.  Facebook has made recent moves in this direction as well.  And both Google and Facebook are taking a page out of the playbook of the ‘poster’ child of email-powered social media – Posterous.” Tyler Pennock, SVP of Social Media

A continuation on the predictions/educated guesses (see Part I)

• Burst of the free content bubble: Free content and access has been a bubble that is bursting as we speak.  More content will go behind walls with a resulting loss of web traffic.  This may not be a long-term solution, but because of the current competition between Google and Microsoft, content providers can access a revenue stream that makes sense for their brand and quality of content and does not solely depend on traffic figures.  Google vs. Microsoft war makes it possible for publishers to maneuver between the two and actually make money. Be ready for more protected content.

• True user centricity: User experience, more than ever, is about speed and user engagement.  Users expect immediate access even on a mobile platform.  Google’s blog recently had an interesting write-up on how important speed is to user experience; even minor slowdowns cause very high page abandonment.  Everything on a page will be sacrificed for speed.Prompts for immediate user input on the huge platforms (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Google, Seesmic, etc…) have trained users to expect a similar experience across the web.  ‘What do you want?’ What are you doing?’ are the immediate and central questions.  Even brochure- like corporate sites will have to change their strategy to prioritize for these expectations.  Prompts of what users want will become central in favor of featured content and animation.
  Immediacy and engagement will be key to web experience more than ever.

We shall see what happens in 2010, see you then!

2010 should be an interesting year for developments in the digital and social media space because it has matured rapidly.  Realistic expectations are set.  The 3-digit Twitter growth rates are gone.  Social Media cannot overthrow entrenched repressive governments.  The hype has lessened, and we are farther along in understanding the role of digital and SM.

So here are some educated guesses/predictions for the upcoming year.  Please voice your feedback or add your own.

• Commoditization of services: Loyalty towards providers/publishers will erode for convenience.  The huge success of products like Seesmic (which allow you to use Facebook, Twitter, etc… from one dashboard) account for large amounts of activity and this is likely to grow.  So is it about Twitter or is it about status updates? Is it about Facebook or staying in touch with your network?  Is it about the actual iPhone or the apps?There are so many services and so much pressure to open the gates in order to stay competitive that it is the commodity services that work across platforms like Seesmic, similar dashboards, and app providers that will grow rapidly as a result.
  
  The service will become more important than the provider.

• Exclusive deals, not acquisitions: This goes back to an earlier post about the ‘Cold War’ between Microsoft and Google, and is rooted in content/service providers being able to play Google and Microsoft against one another.  Much like during the actual Cold War when various countries could go back and forth in their loyalties in order to get the best benefits and aid, in a similar way, publishers can forge relationships knowing they have options between the two.Because such conflicts are long-term, the publishers (e.g.. Yelp, Twitter, etc…) know they have time and are in no rush to sell off their complete sovereignty and would rather sign short term access deals to show revenue potential (precisely as Twitter has done recently). So therefore do not expect huge acquisitions.

Stay tuned for Part II…

Last month I had the privilege of taking part in a panel discussion at a Business Marketing Association breakfast in Chicago. The presentation was lead by Ray Villares from Symmetri Marketing – and the theme was the integration of search, social and mobile marketing. From a digital marketing perspective, this is really the holy trinity. Customers can now find you, and engage with you at anytime, from anywhere. Ray stated that mobile is the most intimate kind of communication – and I think that has some implications from a social media perspective. When a user is interacting with a brand via a mobile device, there is a real singularity of purpose in that moment. There aren’t 10 different windows open and programs running in the background. It’s just the two of you, and the soft glow of that tiny screen. Intimate indeed!

The opportunity is to take that relationship with the consumer to the next level. To provide something unique, something special. Maybe it’s a branded iPhone app. Maybe it’s the ability for a customer to text a keyword to enter a contest or receive product information. Maybe it’s the chance to submit a review of your product, service or establishment in nearly real-time. In any case, we have to ensure that the engagement is special. And at the very least – that our sites are optimized for mobile devices.

The biggest challenge is cutting through all the mobile noise. 100,000+ apps are available for download in iTunes, with thousands more for Android, Nokia, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. And let’s not forget about the mobile web, text messages, and, oh yeah, phone calls. The most effective mobile marketing efforts seem to go beyond pure entertainment or gimmicks, and actually do something useful. I’m thinking of the AT&T “Mark the Spot” app and the Dunkin Run app. Both address a need in a unique way that can really only be offered by the companies themselves. So the questions to ask when considering mobile are 1) What can you offer your audience that no one else can, and 2) Does it make sense to explore mobile devices as a platform to address their unmet needs?

I’ll also add that I think marketers and communicators are going to have to start thinking about how to become a digital triple threat when it comes to search, social and mobile. Traditionally, these channels/platforms have been the domain of “specialists” (and I guess I’m one of them), but with the move to real-time, location-based engagement, these specialties represent the future of almost all digital interaction. This goes for advertising, PR, CRM, you name it. So how are you thinking about mobile when it comes to your 2010 marketing and communications strategy?

[Also published on Social Media Today]

Social Media “frenzies” are over-analyzed as they are happening but are then inadequately remembered after they pass, making their true impact hard to understand.  For example, I would really like to know what was the true impact of the so-called “Motrin Moms” incident?  Did it affect sales, reputation, favorability?

The Skittles experiment in March was hugely effective in generating buzz and traffic but what effect did that truly have and was it sustainable? In these cases it really is just conjecture.  Sales and other brand metrics are not readily available as they are just products within larger organizations, and after initial interest wanes these “social media frenzies” are somewhat forgotten and do not get re-examined.  As this practice area develops, I do believe that Social Media professionals should develop a habit of re-examining these examples as case studies in order to better understand their impact.

One recent example that is interesting to re-examine with having the benefit of time is the Domino’s social media scandal from March 2009 (initially discussed here).  The fact that it is a public company and the top level brand at the company makes it easier to go back and understand the impact of that crisis.  This was actually a frequent discussion point on the company earning’s conference call for that quarter (transcript at Seeking Alpha).  Apparently, the company will not suffer long-term losses, but did suffer sales 1%-2% in that quarter (WSJ article).  So it seems that the damage was pretty heavy, yet limited since that truly was the worst case scenario of a social media crisis.  Domino’s will obviously survive this.

I am not questioning the importance of social media to today’s business. I’m simply suggesting that we should remember to re-examine these events long after they take place as that will give us a clearer understanding about their the long-term significance.

Public relations pros often come into contact with sensitive information, be it a draft press release on a public acquisition, the launch plans for the season’s hottest tech gadget, or the contents of an internal blog. How can PR companies keep this information private in Web 2.0?

As the Wall Street Journal recently explored, this can be especially vexing for layoff announcements in a world of blogs, citing a Yahoo case where “its instructions to managers conducting layoffs — ‘15 minutes maximum,’ ‘don’t engage in small talk’ — were published by the blog Valleywag.com.”

Sites like Overheard in the Office offer an anonymous outlet for harmless (usually) office gossip, but how should companies prepare for the eventuality of a leak that could lead to legal action?

It can be somewhat of a paradox. Building trust with employees and fostering open lines of communication are strong tools for developing a relationship where those with access to sensitive information will honor its sensitivity. Some employees just won’t have that capacity – particularly those who are on their way out or know they will be soon.

So, another approach might be to limit employee access to private information to reduce the possibility of leaks a priori. However, this disintigrates trust, and can lead to cumbersome bureaucracy, censorship, and spying.

Some advocate for companies to act completely openly, as if there is no filter between their email screen and the front page of Gawker. From the PR perspective, this translates as “there is no such thing as off-the-record.”

To complicate matters – in PR, sometimes we walk a fine line of “leaking” information by soft-sounding reporters. It can be appropriate to build a reporter’s interest in a story by sharing some enticing details of a story without providing client identifiers.

And sometimes PR pros purposely and openly “leak” information in the form of an embargoed press release. But as we’ve seen recently, the practice of ignoring embargoes has been catching on, as TechCrunch recently announced they will ignore embargoes and WSJ partially adopted a no embargoes policy.

Have you ever leaked sensitive information?

Maybe don’t answer that on this blog.

It was interesting recently to see the President getting down to Social Media basics and conducting a blogger conference call.  The President is currently in a situation that any organization/executive can understand.  He is trying to build awareness/grassroots support for a tough issue (Healthcare reform) and respond to damaging messages being spread by opponents.

This conference call had all the classic elements: poor sound quality, audible  typing into the microphone, and long blocks of hard-to-follow dialogue.  However, overall the effect of galvanizing support and getting the message across to the influentials worked: it resulted in on-message coverage from all the bloggers.  Granted, this is the actual President of the United States speaking to bloggers so they are likely to pay attention; nevertheless, there are important lessons here.  This was a high level executive making time to actually speak to bloggers and make relationships.  Not many CEOs do that.  The element of research was also present as these were progressive/liberal leaning bloggers that would almost certainly be receptive to the President’s message.  This research element of understanding a blogger position before outreach cannot be underestimated.   Bloggers are the new journalists and need to be treated accordingly. It is nice to see these basic tactics being practiced by President Obama.

See sample coverage and listen to the call here

Fire up those mint julep machines!  Kentucky Derby this weekend. Some horse-related items below for this week’s Noodle Revue on top of the usual (and whatever I do, I will NOT mention swine flu in this post).

Many thanks to Ruder Finn head of HR and avid horse fan Cathleen Graham (@cashcat1969) for some of these links.

Alex Brown’s love of horses started long before he launched the blog, Alex Brown Racing, but it was Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro that pushed the blog into prominence — and eventually established it as a site dedicated to the welfare of horses. Along the way, Brown learned many things about creating and nurturing an online community by using tools like wikis, Facebook and Twitter, and following certain principles, such as: Be authentic, be transparent, be consistent and build trust. Brown, one of whose goals is to rescue horses destined for the slaughter house, talked with Knowledge@Wharton about his strategies for bringing attention — and money — to the cause.

A group for all us business folk who outside the world of hi-tech and commerce like to unwind and get back to nature with horses. No matter your discipline (Dressage, X-Country, Trail riding, Polo, etc.), or even if you don’t have a horse but like Equine events, then come join in and get together.

Other than the fact that he’s already won $4 million in purses and may be on the verge of becoming one of the most famous faces in the sports of horse racing, Joe Talamo is like a lot of guys his age.

His horse is also tweeting! http://twitter.com/I_Want_Revenge

• www.thehorse.com
• www.chronofhorse.com
• www.horseshowspy.com
• www.ntra.com

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Executives exploring Twitter as business tool

Todd Brink’s cigar-bearing image and his thoughts about music, chick flicks and process improvement have made him a Twitter rock star of sorts.

The Wisconsin executive has nearly 3,000 Twitter followers. What’s more, he is ranked No. 1 among the Twitter Elite in Milwaukee on Twitter Grader, a free service that lets people measure their power and reach on Twitter

It may seem an unlikely classification, but Brink represents a growing breed of executives who recognize the power of the tweet as a way to connect with customers and build brand loyalty.

Brink (@toddbrink) is director of process improvement for Boldt Construction Co., a national contractor with 1,500 employees based in Appleton. Brink stressed he is representing himself on Twitter and not Boldt Construction, although many of his tweets are work-related.

He also sent a friend request to Iran, became a fan of Stimulus, and deleted the group Guantanamo Bay Detainees 4EVA.

They are:

1. Ego
2. Money
3. Travel
4. Business Speak
5. Meetings
6. Business Books
7. Time

The first point can probably apply to many in the digital business trends blogger industry.

Swine flu has taken a stranglehold on the news this week with Google News producing almost 42,000 news stories Wednesday compared to about 800 on the American economy taking a Q1 nosedive:

Google News: Swine Flu vs The Recession

This juxtaposition of swine flu news and recession news highlights three digital trends that are affecting how businesses communicate. The three biggest similarities between them from a digital communications perspective are:

1. Speed
2. Credibility
3. Language

Speed

Both swine flu and the recession have been reported on instantly and broadly, and businesses and governments have been expected to respond quickly in both cases. This has put pressure on spokespeople and executives to deliver extremely sensitive messages quickly and accurately. For both swine flu and the recession, mistakes and conflicts due to poor timing could lead to the cause of financial ruin or even literally death.

Credibility

The explosion of social media outlets has empowered anyone (or thing) with a connection to the Internet to spread news. Motives are often questionable and uncontrolled. But when controlling a pandemic or a stock market, it is imperative for health and financial experts to rise above the fray. The cacophony of voices in social media makes this difficult to do, but perhaps the advent of “semi-social media” (think Mahalo, Alltop) will give experts the visibility the public at large deserves.

Language

Another similarity between the two crises is that both have suffered from unfortunate nomenclature. Terms like “swine flu,” “toxic assets,” and “crisis” can lead to misinterpretation. For example several tweets on #swineflu caution against eating pork products, however, that is not how the flu is spread.

What lessons has your business learned from these events?

HP’s news CMO Michael Mendenhall has recently been talking smart on digital networks and managing corporate reputation online. Very progressive talk, especially at an advertising conference. My favorite quote from the AdAge story:

"Who are the real journalists anymore? Deadlines are dead and cycles are 24/7," Mr. Mendenhall said. "You can’t afford a mistake or missed opportunities. Today’s gaffes become tomorrow’s attack ads."

And there’s a short video of Mendenhall on digital trends as well.

This should be very scary news for advertisers. The new digital paradigm means companies will decreasingly able to simply cram advertising down our throats, and will rather have to engage in authentic conversations with their audiences to move the needle on reputation. Corporations looking to manage their reputations will have to build reputations not with ad dollars alone, but through real engagement. That puts a lot of power in the consumer’s hands, and can leave corporations helpless.

Hopefully, this will lead to more transparency and truthfulness in the way we receive corporate messaging, lending to a more authentic means of communications. Of course, this would forecast many a sleepless night for CMOs who are accustomed to micro-managing their companies’ reputations.

Have you changed your opinion of a company based on Web 2.0 communications coming from corporate messengers or from rogue, "unstructured influencers?"