Social media

The Zombie Social Media Trilogy

On March 14, 2010, In Comm, By Tac Anderson

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. This is the first part in our effort to help people understand the larger problem.

Here are some highlights from each post. Click through to check out the complete posts. Let me know what you think.

The Coming Wave of Social Media Zombies

Now that companies are starting to show results with social media, the rest of the early majority and late majority adopters are going to continue to pile on. They’re going to try and strap on social media to their existing efforts and realize that they can’t sustain these efforts. Worse yet, they’ll launch these efforts with no thought to what to do with their new fans, friends and followers (assuming they get any to begin with).

The Top 10 Social Media Books You Have to Read if You Are a Zombie

# Naked Conversations About Zombies – How zombies are changing the way businesses talk with customers.
# The Zombie Groundswell – Winning in a world transformed by zombie technologies.
# Zombies Engage – The complete guide for zombies to build, cultivate and measure success on the Web. Foreword by Zombie Kutcher.

Social Media vs. Zombie Media

What does zombie media look like? Empty, vacuous Facebook pages and Twitter accounts devoid of conversation. [Warning] Zombie accounts often have lots of content flowing through them, but no one is there. It’s brainless.

Is zombie media the same as social media spam? No. Unlike most social media marketing, social media spam has a deliberate strategy and better ROI.

:Screenshot: timeinc.net

Popularity: 3% [?]

Social Business Will Take Us Back To The Middle Ages

On March 12, 2010, In Biz, By Tac Anderson

I had an amazing day at the Dachis Social Business Summit. I have so much to write about it might take me a few weeks to catch up. Especially after surprise guest John Hagel presented. That was the most insightful 15 minutes I’ve heard in a long time.

I’ve been thinking out loud on this blog about what the future of the marketing org will look like inside companies.This has lead me to wonder about the total reconstruction of corporate organization. I’ve researched a lot of different models but there is one area I never looked to: The Middle Ages.

Douglas Rushkoff, who I wasn’t familiar with but if I was a normal PR/Marketing person I probably would have been, as he is an award winning writer, documentary film maker, media critic and accomplished author. He recently published a new book called Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back (Amazon Link) which we got for free at the summit (see disclosures at the bottom of the post for full FTC disclosure).

Doug, Dachis’ own Lee Bryant and several others referenced the pre-twentieth century corporate driven economies of Western Europe. While this may sound like heresy to many of us American capitalists their point was that we are moving back to a relationship driven economy. One common theme was that we have entered a time where relationships matter. The network is no longer roads or servers, the network is us and we are people who connect with people.

Our current business climate functions the way it does because in order to achieve scale we have to give up intimacy. The twentieth century belief was that you couldn’t have both. The Internet, in theory, gave us both scale and intimacy but social media has fully delivered on that promise.

What was surprisingly absent from the summit was talk of technology. There was some, but just used mostly as examples not recommendations or even suggestions. The general agreement was that our current technology will look nothing like our future technology, but more important than that was that the technology, while enabling, doesn’t matter. Our current processes, value propositions and especially the way we communicate is about to devolve back to the Middle Ages.

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Photo credit via kennymatic

FTC Disclosure Icons via Louis Gray

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tagged with: Dachis • Social Business • Social media • SXSW

We Need to Completely Rethink How Business Operates Using Social Media

On March 10, 2010, In The Book, By Tac Anderson

I’ve mentioned the book I’ve been working on. I’ve actually made considerable headway on the weekends (except I can’t come up with a good title to save my life) and thought I’d share my current working summary. I’d love to hear your feedback.

I am looking for examples where social technologies have been used by companies to build trust, retain knowledge, foster collaboration and spur innovation. If you or your company have any good examples please leave me a comment or shoot me an email: tac@newcommbiz.com

Social Media has brought about a groundswell of change that has swept the business world up in its wake. Antiquated processes, organizational structures and technologies have kept companies from staying tuned in and engaged with customers and employees, to say nothing about keeping up with smaller, nimbler competitors.

No one can dispute that the Internet has radically reinvented the financial drivers and restraints of traditional business models. It has lowered almost every barrier to entry in almost every industry. What the Internet has done to business models, the technologies behind social media are doing to the rest of business.

For the first time since the universal adoption of the org chart and the inbox (the physical not the digital one) we have the opportunity to fundamentally rethink how a business is run and what the various stakeholders of a company are and do. Customers don’t just buy products, they are helping companies ideate, design, develop and then sell products. Partnerships between two companies in a supply chain are no longer one dimensional relationships. Partners can also be competitors, customers and shareholders. In the very near future the way we recruit, retain and manage employees today will seem medieval.

The social media revolution is on the verge of creating truly social businesses. This change is being driven by the forces of: Trust, Knowledge, Collaboration & Innovation. These forces have become so important that have become there own form of capital. And like monetary capital they follow the same laws of capitalism and the free market. Until now companies have tried to govern these new forms of capital like a controlled market when what is needed now is a free market approach. Like in a free market, the rights of the owners must be protected but the free trade of capital must not be restricted.

The truly social business will be fully realized when social technologies are leveraged to build collaborative relationships across all company stakeholders. By leveraging social technologies in an open and transparent way businesses will regain and build more trust among stakeholders. This increased trust is a necessity to creating greater shared knowledge, which the same social technologies have the ability to capture, organize and distribute at a yet to be seen level of efficiency. By building collaborative relationships with all company stakeholders using social technologies, businesses will be able to quickly create and capitalize more innovation.

No business has fully achieved this seemingly radical state but many early revolutionaries have developed pockets of deep expertise and experience. While many companies and their employees believe that the lack of adoption of these new technologies is hindering this quintessential state, the fundamental barriers are the outdated structures and process that have existed inside corporations since before the Internet. It’s time to stamp out the last bastions of resistance and remove those barriers and get out of our own way.

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Photo credit via icedsoul photography

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tagged with: Collaboration • Innovation • knowledge • Social Business • Social media • Trust

The Conflicting Definitions of Social Business

On March 9, 2010, In Comm, By Tac Anderson

As social media has continued to evolve and we start to move into the era of social business we’re running into a linguistic snag; There are now two different definitions for Social Business.

Those of us in the social media world have not yet settled on an industry wide definition but I’ve recently started using this definition for social business:

The Social Business will be fully realized when social technologies are leveraged to build collaborative relationships across all company stakeholders. By leveraging social technologies in an open and transparent way businesses will also regain and build more trust among stakeholders. This increased trust will result in greater knowledge creation, which the same social technologies have the ability to capture, organize and distribute at a yet to be seen level of efficiency. By building collaborative relationships with all company stakeholders using social technologies, businesses will be able to quickly create and capitalize more innovation.

But according to the all mighty wikipedia Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, in his book Creating a World without Poverty – Social Business and the Future of Capitalism used this definition:

Social business is a cause-driven business. In a social business, the investors/owners can gradually recoup the money invested, but cannot take any dividend beyond that point. Purpose of the investment is purely to achieve one or more social objectives through the operation of the company, no personal gain is desired by the investors. The company must cover all costs and make revenue, at the same time achieve the social objective, such as, healthcare for the poor, housing for the poor, financial services for the poor, nutrition for malnourished children, providing safe drinking water, introducing renewable energy, etc. in a business way. The impact of the business on people or environment, rather than the amount of profit made in a given period measures the success of social business. Sustainability of the company indicates that it is running as a business. The objective of the company is to achieve social goal/s .

Of course you could have a social business that is also a social business according to both terms. In fact if we simplified the second definition of social business to a business with the objective to do social good (ignoring for a minute the nonprofit like financial status) then I would argue that a social technologies enabled social business would be more likely to do social good because they would be in tune with what their customers and employees want and that the non-profit like social business who uses social technologies would be a more successful social business.

As I pointed out in my post, The Evolution of New Media, Web 2.0, Social Media, Social Business: A Brief History of Everything, we are still in an evolving space and our definitions will continue to evolve. Will social business stick around? I don’t know, right now I can’t think of a better word.

Do you have a better word that fits the first definition?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tagged with: definitions • Social Business • Social media

Don’t Overreact to Your Social Media Mistakes

On March 4, 2010, In Comm, By Tac Anderson

I recently wrote about Alex Payne, a developer for Twitter, who posted a tweet that caused a lot of contention among the Twitter developer community. Think Before You Tweet: The Do Not Tweet List.

Alex is not the first person to put his foot in his mouth on Twitter and he certainly won’t be the last. Because Twitter is so public and 140 characters is not enough to provide proper context, this will become the new normal.

Remember, we’re all human here. (unless you’re not for some reason)

Yesterday I read on GigaOm that Alex has decided to quit blogging, partly due to this most recent incident and partly because he had already been thinking about taking a break. I find his reasoning very poignant. (Emphasis is mine)

Lately, I’ve found the cathartic returns from blog-format writing to be diminishing. The ideas I’m trying to express never really get put to rest in my head when I write, now. Instead, they spark whole conversations that I never intended to start in the first place, conversations that leech precious time and energy while contributing precious little back. Negative responses I can slough off, but the sense that I’m not really crystallizing my unset thoughts by writing here is what bothers me.

This is an unfortunate response to a small blow up. It’s easy to overreact when something like this happens. For so many years social media has been a niche activity. No one but a bunch of geeks talking online. But sometime over the last few years social media quit being a back channel. If you’re a decent writer with interesting things to say, like Alex, then more and more people start paying attention. Pretty soon the random thoughts you’ve been writing down take on a life of their own and those thoughts beget conversations all on their own. This can be very intimidating.

Over the years we read about (seemingly) huge blowups that happen to other people and companies and it’s easy to talk about what they should have done differently. And then it happens to you. These fire drills are emotionally consuming and extremely stressful. No one wants to be “that guy.” I know because I’ve been that guy and was even written up for it.

But in the grand scheme of things these blow ups aren’t that big of a deal. They blow over and everyone moves on with things. Why? Because at the heart of things none of us is perfect and we all recognize that it could have been us. If we have learned anything from politicians, it’s that people are willing to forgive.

We all have our own reasons for blogging. Like Alex, I writing is part of my thinking process. The feedback I get from all of you help to formalize my ideas. Blogging is taxing and that may be the larger reason for Alex’s hiatus but it’s connection with this most recent mistake is unfortunate.

Last post I gave you 10 things to avoid tweeting, today I’m going to give you 3 things to do after it happens.

Apologize for the mistake (or at the very least the misunderstanding).
Clarify the statement (or action). Most mistakes are more miscommunication that an actual mistake.
Move on. Don’t dwell on the mistake, instead reengage with the community and get back to having fun.

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Photo credit via Balakov

Popularity: 12% [?]

Tagged with: Mistakes • Social media • Twitter

You Can’t Hide From the Web

On February 24, 2010, In New, By Tac Anderson

I know my friend Brian Sollom, is nodding his head and Mike “foleymo” Foley has probably already signed up. The Next Web is reporting about a new app that allows you to take a picture of someone and pull up all of their recent social activity. It’s not hard to let your imagination go from there.

Stalk a Stranger. Point Your Phone At Their Face.

Recognizr works when the user points the camera at another person. Inbuilt face recognition software maps a 3D model of the subject and transmits the information to a remote server where it is matched with an identity already present in the database. This information is then sent back to the handset along with any relevant social networking information associated to that person, conveniently displayed above the persons head using little social icons.

The service is opt in only (right now) but face recognition technology exists from companies like HP and Microsoft. There are even free versions out there. It’s only a matter of time before this capability is available without having to opt in.

This will scare the crap out of a large number of people. I understand but there’s no turning back.You can either try, unsuccessfully, to hide from it or you can take control of it and manage it.

Here are my 3 big takeaways for you:

There are no back channels. Do not say anything on the Web you wouldn’t want everyone and anyone to see.
Understand how to use the tools. Facebook and Google don’t make it easy to control your privacy (it’s in there best interest when more data is public) but understand how to use the privacy settings and use them as you see appropriate.
There is no difference between online, offline and mobile realities.

I’ve long claimed that ther is no difference between online and offline. Augmented reality apps are another example of this.

As marketers we need to quit talking about online vs offline vs mobile. The form factor and user interface may be different but all three coexist and we need to be thinking about and using all three. We also need to act responsibly with customers best interest in mind.

Don’t sacrifice customer privacy and comfort for monetary gain. There is a backlash coming, it won’t be pretty and you don’t want to be on the wrong side of that fire storm.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Tagged with: Augmented Reality • Marketing • mobile • Privacy • Social media

What Does the Social Business Look Like?

On February 23, 2010, In The Book, By Tac Anderson

What does the Social Business look like? Some rough draft thoughts.

The Social Business will be fully realized when social technologies are leveraged to build collaborative relationships across all company stakeholders. By leveraging social technologies in an open and transparent way businesses will also regain and build more trust among stakeholders. This increased trust will will result in greater knowledge creation, which the same social technologies have the ability to capture, organize and distribute at a yet to be seen level of efficiency. By building collaborative relationships with all company stakeholders using social technologies, businesses will be able to quickly create and capitalize more innovation.

Some definitions:

Social Media: The output of Web enabled open collaboration using social technologies.

Social Technologies: The technologies and tools used to communicate, collaborate and create on the Web such as blogs, microblogs, wiki’s and forums

Social Business: A business that has built a strategy around leveraging social technologies and social media to maximize the relationships with all company stakeholders.

Collaborative Relationships: Open transparent and mutually beneficial relationships between companies and its stakeholders.

Stakeholders: A companies employees, customers, shareholders, partners and competitors, past, present and future (basically everyone).

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been “working on a book.” I’ve been working on said book for about three years. Maybe this year is the year I finish it. The above is my most recent raw notes from the book writing process. Since I like to bounce my ideas off all of you I thought I’d solicit your feedback here. Let me know what you think.

I’m really excited to go to the Dachis Group’s Social Business Summit next month because I want to test my above theories against the smartest people working on the vision for the Social Business? That and I’ll finally get to meet Peter Kim.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tagged with: Collaboration • knowledge • Social Business • Social media • Social Technology • Trust

What does your job title say about you? Mine says I’ll be out of work soon.

On February 18, 2010, In Comm, By Tac Anderson

Paul Dunay wrote a very compelling post that if followed would lead to me being fired:

Fire your Director of Social Media! | Buzz Marketing for Technology

Ideally, I think you need to treat the role of the Director of Social Media as a way to activate the entire organization socially and then when that’s complete – move on to something else. What’s your view?

My title according to LinkedIn is Social Media Director and I agree with Paul.
My real job title is Director of Digital Strategies.

My title when I joined HP was Web 2.0 Strategic Lead.
My real title was Marketing Manager.

Other job titles I’ve had were Store Enigma and El Presidente. But I’ve had a non-traditional career path.

Why do I change my job title?

I like cool sounding job titles
Your job title should mean something

I want people to know instantly what it is I do when they hear my job title (okay Store Enigma is the exception). And I can change my title whenever I need to. Paul’s right in a year or two I won’t go by Director of Social Media. I actually think I’ll change my title to World Domination Strategist.

Paul’s post hits on another key factor: Social media shouldn’t live in silo’s. I’ve said it before but, no one owns social media. I do not agree with some that social media should have it’s own department. In fact I think we need fewer departments than we have today. I think there should only be one communications department not separate marketing, PR and internal comms groups (internal comms is different from the HR operations role BTW).

The role of social media director, my role, is a temporary solution that will eventually become obsolete. If I do my job right, my role will eventually go away. So what will I do next? I told you Director of World Domination.

How to Manage an Overzealous Manager when Running Social Media (newcommbiz.com)
What Does the Future of Marketing Organizations Look Like? (newcommbiz.com)
The Evolution of New Media, Web 2.0, Social Media, Social Business: A Brief History of Everything (newcommbiz.com)
What comes next? Part 1: Are you ready? (newcommbiz.com)

Popularity: 7% [?]

Tagged with: Director of Social Media • Marketing • Public relations • Social media • Web 2.0

More Mobile Social Proof Points

On February 18, 2010, In New, By Tac Anderson

: Image by frankdasilva via Flickr

Following yesterday’s post “Social Media and Mobile Growth are Exponentially Symbiotic” I wanted to post 2 quick links that emphasize the relationship between mobile and social.

Rohit has a good post detailing a milestone of sorts in mobile’s maturity.

Influential Marketing Blog: 5 Terms That Signify The Future Of Mobile Marketing

It’s hard to predict, but I can say that this year does represent a unique moment where all the different aspects of mobile marketing that have long been preached by believers as signifying a cultural shift that matters to marketers are coming together.

The Shortcode
LBS (Location Based Services)
APP(lications)
AR (Augmented Reality)
DMPs (Direct MobilePayments)

ReadWriteWeb reports on a recent study showing that mobile social networking is now more popular than desktop social networking.

Social Networking Now More Popular on Mobile than Desktop

During the 2.7 hours per day that people in the U.S. spending on the mobile web, 45% are posting comments on social networking sites, 43% are connecting with friends on social networking sites, 40% are sharing content with others and 38% are sharing photos. While those last two figures represent activities that can take place outside of a dedicated social networking service, like a Facebook app for example, they still are inherently social activities.

Social Media and Mobile Growth are Exponentially Symbiotic (newcommbiz.com)
A Collection of 2010 Social Media Predictions (newcommbiz.com)
Tactic #10; Make it mobile! (e1evation.com)
Facebook’s Mobile Strategy Condensed Into 16 Minutes (Video) (techcrunch.com)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tagged with: Facebook • Location-based service • Marketing • mobile • social • Social media • Social network service

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