Friday Fun Video

The holidays are upon us! Where did the year go? As we begin to wrap up the year, I offer the "Goodwill" video from the Apple/PC commercial series. For the full series - which is an extraordinarily well done one - <a href="http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/">check this out</a>.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M0vMy4G4zKw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M0vMy4G4zKw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Friday Fun Video

The holidays are upon us! Where did the year go? As we begin to wrap up the year, I offer the "Goodwill" video from the Apple/PC...

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Friday Fun Video

This week's video features Sony being called out for having a flog (aka a fake blog) for their PSP. The site, alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (now offline), was not convincing at all - offers were too promotional in nature and Zipatoni, the agency responsible for the blog, was clearly noted on the domain registration page.<br /><br />When will companies learn? It's transparency and authenticity that matters in social media. In their rush to try to get something out that <span style="font-style: italic;">looks</span> like it's user-generated content, they're missing the basics. First, you need to connect with and understand consumers so that you've giving them something worthy of passing along. Otherwise, it's just a poorly planned promotion that demonstrates just how little you think of your customers.<br /><br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bwdhg_whoKw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bwdhg_whoKw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Friday Fun Video

This week's video features Sony being called out for having a flog (aka a fake blog) for their PSP. The site, alliwantforxmasisapsp.com...

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Friday Fun Video

This week has been exceptionally busy with client travel. One of the benefits was traveling with a <a href="http://experience.douglasreynolds.com/">colleague</a> who introduced me to another excellent movie trailer. I'll do even better than sharing that one with you - I'll give you two for the price of one.<br /><br /><center><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YRJLKYT4yUY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YRJLKYT4yUY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><BR><BR><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2T5_0AGdFic"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2T5_0AGdFic" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></center>

Friday Fun Video

This week has been exceptionally busy with client travel. One of the benefits was traveling with a colleague who introduced me to another ...

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Friday Fun Video

It's been a while since I've gotten around to posting. My apologies. Things have been busy around the agency, which is a good thing.<br /><br />The pace of social media continues to blast ahead, with much attention being given to so-called "widgets." I use some in <a href="http://bakerstreetjournal.blogspot.com/">my personal blog</a>, but haven't contracted widgetosis here.<br /><br />With every Web 2.0 wannabe developing the next free gadget/widget/tool/site, I'm beginning to think that we're in a technology overload as we try to deal with information overload. There are so many options to choose from, simply because the economics are such that developers are able to create them.<br /><br />Which brings me to my point: just because we <span style="font-style: italic;">can </span>create something with lots of bells and whistles, doesn't mean that we <span style="font-style: italic;">should</span>. Innovative marketing tools and programs should be administered for a reason, not simply because they're the latest thing. Case in point:<br /><br /><center><embed src="http://www.ifilm.com/efp" quality="high" bgcolor="000000" name="efp" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="flvbaseclip=2800723&" align="middle" height="355" width="425"><br /><a href="http://www.videosift.com/" border="0">Via: <em>VideoSift</em></a><center></center></center>

Friday Fun Video

It's been a while since I've gotten around to posting. My apologies. Things have been busy around the agency, which is a good thing....

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On Corporate Blogging

Following on the tail of my previous entry, Social Media in a Highly Regulated Environment, I'd like to share Peter Delegge's <a href="http://marketingtoday.blogspot.com/2006/11/fifteen-rules-for-corporate-blogs.html">15 Rules for Corporate Blog</a><a href="http://marketingtoday.blogspot.com/2006/11/fifteen-rules-for-corporate-blogs.html">s</a>, as written on <a href="http://marketingtoday.blogspot.com/">Marketing Today</a>.<br /><br />If you'd like the full details for each line item, take a look at Peter's blog.<br /><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Don’t treat corporate blogs like another corporate communications or marketing communications device, it’s significantly different.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Don’t blog without a solid, compelling case and proper resources.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Have solid executive backing before you blog.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Choose your bloggers carefully.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Authenticity is critical.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Thoroughly train your bloggers and require an internal blogging test period before a blogger is “certified.”</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Assign a blog approver for each blog who has some degree of subject matter expertise, knowledge of company policies and public relations.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Don’t hide from the tough stuff. Be willing to admit mistakes.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Create a blog crisis communications plan.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Moderate blog comments.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Make your blog part of a communications plan – not the whole of it.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Monitor your corporate blogs.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Determine measures of effectiveness up front.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Consider that the blogosphere expects your blogs to be a marketing and PR mouthpiece. Always keep this in mind and prove them wrong.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:georgia;"> Manage your brand online: monitor what people are saying about your brand online. [<span style="font-style: italic;">Jaffe Juice has <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/2006/08/23_things_every.html">a good summary</a> of what to monitor - ed.</span>]<br /></span></li></ol> And here I'll add the following:<br /><continued><br /> 16. If you're going to start a corporate blog, be ready to stick it out - <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/11/the_long_tail_t.html">stay in it for the long haul and be patient in waiting for results</a>.<br /><br />If you'd like to add something that hasn't been covered above, I'd appreciate the input.<br /><br /><br /></continued>

On Corporate Blogging

Following on the tail of my previous entry, Social Media in a Highly Regulated Environment, I'd like to share Peter Delegge's 15 Rul...

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Social Media in a Highly Regulated Environment

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/Shackles.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/Shackles.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 152px;" /></a>One of the sessions at the recent <a href="http://www.sncr.org/">SCNR</a> inaugural Research Symposium concerned corporate blogging - great topic for a B2B blogger, no? Since I've covered the symposium in another posting, I'll focus here on a question I asked the panel.<br /><blockquote>Can blogging - or any type of social media - be supported in a highly regulated industry, such as pharma?</blockquote>It's a question I've been grappling with as I've presented the concept of blogging and podcasting to one of my clients in the biopharma space. It's a fundamental question that gets to the core of the value of social media. That is, if you'd like to start a blog and your company requires a high level of involvement from the legal department, your blog is going to sound more like a corporate communications piece and will be less authentic - thus negating the very reason for having a blog.<br /><br />First things first: according to <a href="http://bernaisesource.blog.com/1110888/">Christopher Barger</a>, IBM's Blogger-in-Chief, companies need to realize that social media is happening around them whether they like it or not. Acknowledge it. At the very least, monitor what's being said. And if you can, participate. And that requires having a good <a href="http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html">corporate blogging policy</a>.<br /><br />Okay, fine. "IBM isn't a pharma company," you say. But it's a company that has many stakeholders. According to a recent <span style="font-style: italic;">MedAd News</span> article <a href="http://www.pharmalive.com/magazines/medad/view.cfm?articleid=3686">Lost in the Blog</a>, "People are talking, and the pharmaceutical industry needs to get in on the conversation." There are numerous blogs <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">about </span>pharma companies, but I'm not aware of a single one <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">by </span>a pharma company. If one jumps in, the only question is what the FDA will allow. The agency has been watching the space and will undoubtedly crack down when a company steps over the line.<br /><br />The fact that no corporate blogging is happening in pharma is probably because pharma is a conservative industry which is understandably concerned about lawsuits and regulatory hammers coming down. As with any regulated industry, pharma is used to a push-marketing style. But this simply won't be sustainable as a strategy in the future. With consumers being more in control of conversations and messages, the rules have changed.<br /><br />So, if blogging isn't the answer, then perhaps a sponsored community is. GSK, Lilly, Pfizer and others have established communities around diseases that their drugs address.<br /><br />Let's face it: blogging isn't for everyone. MarketingEdge's most recent podcast <a href="http://providentpartners.blogspot.com/2006/11/great-blog-debate.html">The Great Blog Debate</a> is an excellent (dare I say "great"?) discussion about when companies should blog - or not. It's worth a listen.<br /><br />And the ANA Marketing Maestros' entry <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://ana.blogs.com/maestros/2006/09/b2b_blogs_more_.html">B2B Blogs More Important than Ever</a> contends<br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:12;"><blockquote>While you may not be ready to start your own blog, you better now become cognizant of what others are saying about your company, your products, and how your serve your customers. Your business life might just depend on it.<br /></blockquote></span></span>

Social Media in a Highly Regulated Environment

One of the sessions at the recent SCNR inaugural Research Symposium concerned corporate blogging - great topic for a B2B blogger, no? Since...

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Take Your Technology To Work Day, Part 2: Blogging

In <a href="http://socialmediamarketing.blogspot.com/2006/10/take-your-technology-to-work-day-part-1.html">Part 1</a> of this series, I wrote about some unique business uses of the iPod. Today, I'd like to share a rather unconventional use of a blog in a business setting.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, we were invited to present a final pitch with a large national client. We diligently undertook our usual thorough approach on research, strategy, creative and media. We had some great thinking and concepts to share. But the prospect gave us a real chance to shine when they included this question in the prep materials for the pitch:<blockquote>What's one thing we haven't asked you that you can tell us about yourself?</blockquote>While some agencies might talk about awards, or present previous campaign materials that they're proud of but which may not apply to the core presentation, we chose a different direction. We wanted them to get to know us as people - the people who would be running the account. We also wanted them to get a feel for our approach to new media/social media.<br /><br />So we created a <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">pitch blog</span>. Yes, that's right, I coined a term. I'll say it again: a pitch blog.<br /><br />The blog postings captured our thinking from the time we heard about the opportunity, to summaries of some primary source interviews and research, to thoughts on strategy within their industry. It culminated with a short video we shot around the office in a casual setting.<br /><br />The sidebar was set up to really showcase our individuality and quirkiness. Here's a quick rundown of what we created:<br /><br />- A donut survey powered by <a href="http://www.slide.com/">Slide.com</a>. ("Donuts - is there anything they can't do?")<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><center><div><embed quality="high" flashvars="site=widget-de.slide.com&channel=72057594044978654&cy=ms&il=1" src="http://widget-de.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" salign="l" wmode="transparent" scale="noscale" name="flashticker" align="middle" height="175" width="150"></div></center><br /></span>- An <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://h1.ripway.com/wsmonty/itunes_icon.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://h1.ripway.com/wsmonty/itunes_icon.gif" style="cursor: pointer; width: 17px; height: 17px;" /></a><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id">iTunes mix</a> of our favorite songs.<br /><br />- A plug-in of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=735885D8650BB98B">our favorite YouTube videos</a>. Here's mine:<br /><br /><center><object height="250" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tdhFtDbGJQ0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tdhFtDbGJQ0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="250" width="300"></object></center><br />- A <a href="http://www.meebo.com/">Meebo</a> plugin that allows the prospect to IM me with any immediate question or feedback<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/batphone.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/batphone.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />- A <a href="http://www.gapingvoid.com/">Gaping Void</a> widget with the cartoon of the day<br /><center><script src="http://www.gapingvoid.com/widget/widget.php?filter=y&size=200" type="text/javascript"></script></center><br />- A link to a custom-built <a href="http://del.icio.us/">del.icio.us</a> page with articles of importance to their business, tagged by the agency<br /><br />I should probably pause for a moment to let you know that we won the account. They were impressed with our approach, thinking and hard work. The blog may have had something to do with it, too.<br /><br />Next up in Part 3: what to do now that the pitch is over.

Take Your Technology To Work Day, Part 2: Blogging

In Part 1 of this series, I wrote about some unique business uses of the iPod. Today, I'd like to share a rather unconventional use of...

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Video Web Conferencing Got You Down?

Yeah, me too.<br /><br />We recently participated in a pitch in which one of the participants was participating via conference call. The PPT file was a large one, and it contained embedded video which was too large to stream over the Web. We couldn't easily change the files to run on a Windows laptop and WebEx, and because of glitches with between WebEx and the Mac OS, we couldn't simply run our standard Web conferencing solution. And since this was a pitch, we wanted to make sure that we controlled the presentation at our own pace, so we didn't want to send the presentation on CD ahead of time.<br /><br />While we were thinking through various solutions (one was to run the PPT without the videos, then cut to the Web, where we could view them on YouTube - this was quickly discarded, as is presupposed connectivity, required smaller (or lower quality) videos, and meant that our files would be in the public domain) I said "We need a solution that allows us to stream videos over the Web as part of a conferencing package. The technology just isn't there yet."<br /><br />That was then (a month ago). This is now (don't you love the speed of innovation in Web 2.0?). TechCrunch featured <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/11/10/1videoconference-free-open-source-web-conferencing-for-your-domain/">1videoConference: Free Open Source Web Conferencing</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/11/10/1videoconference-free-open-source-web-conferencing-for-your-domain/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/vidconflogo.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />While it's still in <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">alpha </span>mode (that's right, hasn't even gotten to beta yet), all eyes are going to be on this one. With a little code you put on your Web site, it allows users to participate in video, voice and text chat and screen sharing Web conferencing. It's the future of video conferencing.

Video Web Conferencing Got You Down?

Yeah, me too. We recently participated in a pitch in which one of the participants was participating via conference call. The PPT file was a...

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Friday Fun Video

This week in Friday Fun Video, before we get to the fun part, I need to share some information about online video advertising with you.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1004251">emarketer</a>, online video advertising is on the verge of a boom. In 2006, spending will reach $410 million, at 82% jump over 2005 numbers. And by 2010, you're looking at about $3 billion in online video advertising spending.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/Online_video_ad_spend.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/Online_video_ad_spend.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />(This link was made possible by <a href="http://www.blogwriteforceos.com/blogwrite/2006/11/online_video_ad.html">Debbie Weil</a>, via <a href="http://www.paulgillin.com/2006/11/good-reading.html">Paul Gillin</a>)<br /><br />And now, on with the show...<br /><br />As a colleague wrote when he forwarded this video, "if you don''t laugh at this, you have no soul."<br /><br /><center><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5P6UU6m3cqk"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5P6UU6m3cqk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Friday Fun Video

This week in Friday Fun Video, before we get to the fun part, I need to share some information about online video advertising with you. Acco...

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Research + Entertainment = Wildly Successful Campaign

A couple of months ago, I touted <a href="http://socialmediamarketing.blogspot.com/2006/09/mind-blowing-new-advertising-model.html">entertainment value as being the key driver</a> behind the success of some of the most popular viral videos. It turns out that one of those campaigns, <a href="http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/">Shave Everywhere</a> from Philips Norelco has the stats to prove it.<br /><br />In its live coverage from the Ad:Tech conference, Promo says that <a href="http://promomagazine.com/interactivemarketing/news/liveadtech_wom_110806/">Humor, then WOM Drive Successful Norelco Launch</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ShaveEverywhere.com"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://promomagazine.com/images/newsletter/norelco.carrot.jpeg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" /></a><br />With less than $1 million for their budget, Philips created a video on a dedicated Web site to generate awareness, achieve sales goals and generate buzz that could be measured and quantified. The results are impressive:<br /><ul><li>313,675 unique visitors the first week</li><li>613,632 unique visitors the second week</li><li>1.7 million visits total</li><li>31% pass-along rate</li><li>Sales reached 300% over an already "lofty" goal</li><li>Over 500 blogs featured the video</li></ul>More impressive than the results are the methods undertaken in determining the approach. This was not simply lightning in a bottle - it was deliberately researched and planned.<br /><blockquote>"We had a lot of pushback, was this right for the brand?" [brand manager Zdenek C.] Kratky said. "[But] we knew that the media spin alone wasn't going to get us what we wanted."<br /></blockquote>The company performed consumer research and pre-testing, which helped guide the decision.<br /><blockquote>"That's where the miracle happened," Kratky said of the consumer research, "when you spend more time with the consumer than you do in the conference room."</blockquote><br />Lest you think I've abandoned my core focus here - B2B - these principles should apply for any campaign, whether it's B2C or B2B. Audience research, testing and feedback are important factors if you aren't <span style="font-style: italic;">completely </span>familiar with your audience. It can save you a lot of embarrassment and can drive some very impressive results.<br /><br /><blockquote></blockquote>

Research + Entertainment = Wildly Successful Campaign

A couple of months ago, I touted entertainment value as being the key driver behind the success of some of the most popular viral videos. I...

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Social Media in the B2B World

I work at a BtoB agency (or B2B agency, if you prefer). As such, I've tried to take a B2B angle on social media marketing on this blog. It hasn't been easy all of the time, as the social media craze is really caught up in the B2C space. But whenever a cool widget, application or service is trumpeted, I always look for a creative way to apply it to the B2B space.<br /><br />Well, I'm happy to say that it looks like this might be catching on. In the <a href="http://www.marketingtoday.com/blog/blog.htm">Marketing Today Blog</a>, Peter DeLegge posted <a href="http://marketingtoday.blogspot.com/2006/11/social-media-blogs-message-boardsits.html">Social Media, Blogs, Message Boards...It's Not Just a B2C Thing</a>. It's a great post that sums up everything I believe about social media in the B2B world. Here's a quick excerpt:<br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><blockquote>Whether marketers and PR professionals like it or not, the folks we market to can now have a real voice and we would do well to take this seriously. More than that, it no longer requires money and influence to be heard; it requires being at the right place with a message that resonates.</blockquote></span>Amen to that, brother.

Social Media in the B2B World

I work at a BtoB agency (or B2B agency, if you prefer). As such, I've tried to take a B2B angle on social media marketing on this blog....

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Mobile Social Media Marketing

What could be more social than a phone? It's built specifically to empower communication over distances. It's a natural fit then, that social media marketing should find its way to the phone. I'm talking about YouTube going mobile.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://youtube.com/img/logo_tagline_sm.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://youtube.com/img/logo_tagline_sm.gif" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 42px;" /></a>On November 2, <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/11/02/youtube-going-mobile-in-14-months/">TechCrunch</a> picked up on an AdAge article that stated YouTube would be mobile within the next 14 months. They correctly assumed that the unveiling would occur sooner - though not as soon as this.<br /><br />The November 7 Wall Street Journal carried <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116294949888616492-search.html?KEYWORDS=verizon+youtube&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month">an article about a deal between Verizon Wireless and YouTube</a> which will allow Verizon's customers to view videos from the user generated media leader. This is a huge stroke of luck for advertisers.<br /><br />Traditionally, the mobile market has been nearly impossible to advertise on. It's pretty much a closed system, controlled by the service providers and giving marketers no direct access to customers. With the advent of YouTube videos being available through Verizon Wireless, it's a gold mine of opportunity for those savvy enough to pull it off.<br /><br />Let's not forget that, even though anyone can post a video on YouTube, it still takes that special something to make it into the <a href="http://youtube.com/browse?s=mp">most popular videos</a>. While authenticity counts, so does entertainment value. And sometimes, there's no telling what the public will engage with.<br /><br />It's quite fitting then, as reported by <a href="http://www.toprankblog.com/2006/11/youtube-named-time-invention-of-the-year/">Online Marketing Blog</a> that YouTube was named TIME's <a href="http://www.time.com/time/2006/techguide/bestinventions/inventions/youtube.html">2006 Invention of the Year</a>.

Mobile Social Media Marketing

What could be more social than a phone? It's built specifically to empower communication over distances. It's a natural fit then, t...

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Ethics in Blogging

With all of the recent flaps about flogs (<a href="http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/edelman_admits_to_two_more_flogs/"></a><a href="http://www.adrants.com/2006/10/following-walmart-mcdonalds-caught-with-f.php">McDonald's</a> and <a href="http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/edelmans_womma_membership_under_review/">Wal-Mart</a> to name two), it seems to be the perfect time to take a look at <a href="http://www.womma.org/blogger/">WOMMA's ethical principles</a> for marketer-blogger interaction:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.womma.org/art/home_logo.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.womma.org/art/home_logo.gif" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 72px;" /></a><br /><h2 style="margin: 0pt 0pt 20px; padding: 0pt; text-align: center; font-size: 16px;">10 Principles for Ethical Contact by Marketers<br /></h2><ol><li>I will always be truthful and will never knowingly relay false information. I will never ask someone else to deceive bloggers for me.</li><li>I will fully disclose who I am and who I work for (my identity and affiliations) from the very first encounter when communicating with bloggers or commenting on blogs.</li><li>I will never take action contrary to the boundaries set by bloggers. I will respect all community guidelines regarding posting messages and comments.</li><li>I will never ask bloggers to lie for me.</li><li>I will use extreme care when communicating with minors or blogs intended to be read by minors.</li><li>I will not manipulate advertising or affiliate programs to impact blogger income.</li><li>I will not use automated systems for posting comments or distributing information.</li><li>I understand that compensating bloggers may give the appearance of a conflict of interest, and I will therefore fully disclose any and all compensation or incentives.</li><li>I understand that if I send bloggers products for review, they are not obligated to comment on them. Bloggers can return products at their own discretion.</li><li>If bloggers write about products I send them, I will proactively ask them to disclose the products’ source.</li></ol>So there you have it. It's pretty much common sense. The problem is, common sense isn't all that common any longer.

Ethics in Blogging

With all of the recent flaps about flogs ( McDonald's and Wal-Mart to name two), it seems to be the perfect time to take a look at WOM...

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Check Your Online Budgets Now

According to a post <a href="http://www.centerformediaresearch.com/cfmr_brief.cfm?fnl=061102">by the Center for Media Research</a>, Omniture has developed a white paper that predicts the near future of BtoB marketing turning more significantly toward online. Omniture asserts that in order to take advantage of the Web 2.0 environment, businesses not only need to embrace the trend, but need to be ahead of the curve.<br /><br />According to the report and the Direct Marketing Association:<br /><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ></span><blockquote><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >"By 2008 online marketing efforts will be the dominant media for business-to-business initiatives. Traditional direct mail, industry print, and events and promotions will take a back seat to more efficient and sophisticated online efforts. A Forrester Research study in 2005 indicated that by 2008, online marketing will be more ubiquitous than anything except in-person events (including sales calls).</span>"</blockquote>When you consider that 45% of B2B decision makers spend 5 or more hours a week online researching products, according to the CMO Council & KnowledgeStorm, it follows naturally that more budget should be spent on online marketing to this group. Consider the challenges:<br /><br /><table class="text" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top"><p class="msonormal"> <b>Top B2B Marketing Challenges</b> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> <b><i>Challenge</i></b> </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> <b><i>% of Respondents</i></b> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Reaching decision makers </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 63% </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Deepening relationships with customers </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 63 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Measuring marketing results </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 57 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Generating more leads </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 56 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Improving lead quality </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 52 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Increasing product awareness </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 52 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Developing brand awareness </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 49 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> <i>Source: Omniture Online Marketing Guide, 2006</i> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><br />One way around the perennial challenge of getting in front of the right executives for lead generation and better relationship marketing is targeted niche material online that speaks directly to their needs.<br /><br />Take a look at trends in marketing tactics from the last two years versus what is predicted for one year from now:<br /><br /><table style="width: 411px; height: 372px;" class="text" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" valign="top"><p class="msonormal"> <b>B2B Marketing Tactic Trends</b> <i>(% of respondents)</i> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> <b><i>Tactic</i></b> </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> <b><i>Used in 2004/05</i></b> </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> <b><i>Expect to use in 2008</i></b> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> In-person events </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 60.2% </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 60.8% </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Direct mail </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 56.2 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 48.7 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Online marketing </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 48.7 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 54.6 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Newspapers </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 46.9 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 35.6 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Custom publications </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 45.8 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 44.1 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Industry specific/trade magazines </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 45.4 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 48.3 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Printed newsletters </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 43.5 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 35.1 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> TV </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 41.4 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 44.1 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> General business magazines </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 41.3 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 38.6 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Public relations </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 37.7 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 41.6 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Radio </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 35.3 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 33.0 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> Printed directories </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 26.8 </p> </td> <td valign="top"> <p class="msonormal" align="right"> 24.8 </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" valign="top"> <p class="msonormal"> <i>Source: Omniture Online Marketing Guide, 2006</i> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Now is the time to begin building best practices in online marketing tactics. Be it new media, "traditional" online strategy, or some mix, it's important now more than ever to <strike>embrace</strike> lead with these options.

Check Your Online Budgets Now

According to a post by the Center for Media Research , Omniture has developed a white paper that predicts the near future of BtoB marketing ...

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A Word About Online Advertising

If you had any doubts that the future of advertising lies with more online presence, this should dispel some of those doubts. The Audit Bureau of Circulations reported the following statistics at the end of September.<blockquote>1. USA Today: 2,269509, (-1.3%)<br />2. The Wall Street Journal: 2,043235, (-1.9%)<br />3. The New York Times: 1,086,798, (-3.5%)<br />4. Los Angeles Times: 775,766, (-8.0%)<br />5. The New York Post: 704,011, 5.3%<br />6. Daily News: 693,382, 1.0%<br />7. The Washington Post: 656,297, (-3.3%)<br />8. Chicago Tribune: 576,132, (-1.7%)<br />9. Houston Chronicle: 508,097, (-3.6%)<br />10. Newsday: 413,579, (-4.9%)<br />11. The Arizona Republic, Phoenix: 397,294, (-2.5%)<br />12. The Boston Globe: 386,415, (-6.7%)<br />13. The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.: 378,100, (-5.5%)<br />14. San Francisco Chronicle: 373,805, (-5.3%)<br />15. The Star Tribune, Minneapolis: 358,887, (-4.1%)<br />16. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 350,157, (-3.4%)<br />17. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland: 336,939, (-0.6%)<br />18. The Philadelphia Inquirer: 330,622, (-7.5%)<br />19. Detroit Free Press: 328,628, (-3.6%)<br />20. The Oregonian, Portland: 310,803, (-6.8%)<br />21. The San Diego Union-Tribune: 304,334, (-3.1%)<br />22. St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: 288,676, (-3.2%)<br />23. The Orange County (Calif.) Register: 287,204, (-3.7%)<br />24. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: 276,588, 0.6%<br />25. The Sacramento (Calif.) Bee: 273,609, (-5.4%)<br /></blockquote>While not a nail in the coffin of newspapers, it demonstrates what is a continued trend away from print-only media. The future lies with those entities that are able to pull off a truly integrated approach, placing the right message in the right place at the right time. <br /><br />As <a href="http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=904">Online Spin notes</a>, we're at a point of severe fragmentation, consumers who are already time-crunching and the advent of many easy to use tools and services.<br /><br />So put down that newspaper and get to work!

A Word About Online Advertising

If you had any doubts that the future of advertising lies with more online presence, this should dispel some of those doubts. The Audit Bur...

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And Now, a Word from Our Sponsors

As promised on Friday, here's the new EepyBird Diet Coke/Mentos experiment (#214, for those of you keeping track). This time, it's wholly supported by the product manufacturers.<br /><br /><center><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-274981837129821058&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed></center><br /><br />Not quite as exciting as the first one, but innovative nonetheless. I predict that it will get passed around, but it won't have the same buzz as the first video.

And Now, a Word from Our Sponsors

As promised on Friday, here's the new EepyBird Diet Coke/Mentos experiment (#214, for those of you keeping track). This time, it's ...

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Friday Fun Video

Better late than really late. Five months later, Coca-Cola has finally decided to embrace the Diet Coke & Mentos craze. If you recall, the original video was <a href="http://www.adrants.com/2006/06/mentos-loves-diet-coke-coke-could-care-le.php">embraced by Mentos, but Coca-Cola distanced itself</a> from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8J4RdX5H8Y">viral video</a> and wanted no part in it.<br /><br />This time, Coca-Cola has sponsored the <a href="http://www.eepybird.com/">EepyBird</a> guys and is challenging viewers to submit their own videos of zany concoctions of Diet Coke and God knows what else. Coke. It's the real thing!<br /><br /><embed style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-2723280415645626938&hl=en" flashvars=""><br /><br />I guess I'll have to do a special Manic Monday Video entry to follow up on this hype.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks to </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/2006/10/coke_strikes_ba.html">Joseph Jaffe</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> for the lead.</span>

Friday Fun Video

Better late than really late. Five months later, Coca-Cola has finally decided to embrace the Diet Coke & Mentos craze. If you recall, ...

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Blogging Etiquette

The father of social media, Rohit Bhargava at <a href="http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2006/10/introducing_the.html">Influential Interactive Marketing</a> has started a Writeboard exercise on blogging etiquette, called <a href="http://123.writeboard.com/3e555ed9feb34b374">The Golden Rules of Blog Etiquette</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/blogetiquette_writeboard.0.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/blogetiquette_writeboard.0.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />As the blogosphere is rapidly expanding and changing, it's important to recognize that there are many new contributors and readers out there, and that there are no standardized protocols for handling blog-to-blog interaction. Which is why Rohit started the Writeboard.<br /><br />Really, most of what is written (and what I imagine will be contributed) should be common sense. After all, social media is an extension of social interaction. Similar rules of etiquette should be followed as in "real life."<br /><br />It's an open forum, so anyone can contribute. Find it at:<br /><a href="http://123.writeboard.com/3e555ed9feb34b374">The Golden Rules of Etiquette</a> (http://123.writeboard.com/3e555ed9feb34b374)<br />Password: begood<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/6552286">Trackback</a>

Blogging Etiquette

The father of social media, Rohit Bhargava at Influential Interactive Marketing has started a Writeboard exercise on blogging etiquette, ca...

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Take Your Technology to Work Day, Part 1: Podcasting

Great article in the Personal Journal section of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wall Street Journal</span> today: <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116173887200102825-email.html">The Boss Puts the iPod to Work</a> (free access until 11/2/06).<br /><br />Evidently, some managers have come to embrace the iPod as an enabling technology that goes beyond listening to music or watching TV episodes. Some business uses of the iPod include:<br /><ul><li>Language classes for employees</li><li>CEO announcements</li><li>Sales seminars</li><li>Audio and video training files<br /></li></ul>Siemens discovered that it could cut down on the $125,000 it spent on <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">each</span> sales seminar (there are typically 4 per year) by purchasing 100 iPods for its staff at a total cost of $30,000. And companies are discovering the joys of productivity, as employees can listen to company podcasts while commuting or doing other work.<br /><br />It's encouraging to see that this "new" technology (well, not completely new - <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/23/the-ipod-turns-five/">the iPod just turned 5</a>) is being brought into the mainstream. As the market continues to mature, I'm sure we'll see other great examples of business uses of blogs and iPods, among others. Have you got any examples? Let me know.<br /><br />Stay tuned for <a href="http://socialmediamarketing.blogspot.com/2006/11/take-your-technology-to-work-day-part-2.html">Part 2</a> in this series, where I'll talk about a unique new use of blogs that we're trying at my agency.

Take Your Technology to Work Day, Part 1: Podcasting

Great article in the Personal Journal section of The Wall Street Journal today: The Boss Puts the iPod to Work (free access until 11/2/06)...

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Why Blogging Matters

As usual, <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/10/open_post_to_al.html">Logic + Emotion</a> has a great perspective on blogging. This time, Dave Armano has taken part in a group post with other high-power bloggers.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/six_degrees.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/six_degrees.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Together, they develop <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/10/open_post_to_al.html">6 Degrees of Perspective on Why Blogging Matters</a>:. I'll just cover the highlights here; definitely check our their longer post if you need some proof points to incorporate blogging as a standard practice in your company's or client's marketing efforts.<br /><br /><strong>#1 - PR and Blogging – A Love Story or Peaceful Coexistence<br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Covered by </span></strong>Dan Greenfield, VP of Corporate Communications at Earthlink -<a href="http://bernaisesource.blog.com/">Bernaisesource</a><br /><strong><br />#2 – Blogging and the “new influencers”<br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">As seen by Eric Kintz, VP of Global Marketing Strategy at Hewlett-Packard - <a href="http://www.hp.com/blogs/kintz">Marketing Excellence</a></span></strong><a href="http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/kintz/"></a><br /><strong><br /></strong><strong>#3 – The role of blogging in the changing world of advertising</strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">From the perspective of </strong>Will Waugh, Senior Director of Communications at ANA - <a href="http://ana.blogs.com/maestros/">Marketing Maestros</a><br /><strong><br /></strong><strong>#4 – The role of blogging as part of an integrated web strategy</strong><br />With a view from David Charbuck, VP of Global Web Marketing at Lenovo - <a href="http://www.churbuck.com/wordpress/">Charbuck</a><br /><strong><br /></strong><strong>#5 – Drive Harmony in Conversational Touchpoints</strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">The opinion of </strong>Peter Blackshaw, CMO, Neilsen Buzz Metrics - <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://notetaker.typepad.com/cgm/">Consumer Generated Media</a><br /><br /><strong>#6 - Creativity, Innovation + Blogging</strong><br />As host, David Armano, VP at Digitas gets to go last, with some sub-points on the usefulness of blogs:<br /><ol><li><strong>Instant feedback from a qualified network of peers</strong></li><li><strong>A digital journal, scrapbook and sketchpad</strong></li><li><strong>The ultimate marketing and brand challenge</strong></li></ol>

Why Blogging Matters

As usual, Logic + Emotion has a great perspective on blogging. This time, Dave Armano has taken part in a group post with other high-power ...

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Color Me Impressed

I recently blogged about <a href="http://socialmediamarketing.blogspot.com/2006/10/giving-second-life-second-chance.html">giving Second Life a second chance</a>. It seems that there's more to <a href="http://www.secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> than I initially thought. Consider the following:<br /><ul><li>IBM recently <a href="http://news.com.com/2061-10809_3-6127448.html?part=rss&tag=6127448&subj=news">broke ground in Second Life</a> for hosting corporate meetings; </li><li>The Economist did a piece on <a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7963538">living a Second Life</a>;</li><li>InfoWorld remarks on the uniqueness of this <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/10/11/42OPstrategic_1.html">"fundamentally social"</a> outlet;</li><li>According to current statistics on the home page, there are currently 1,097,422 residents who have spent US$580,371 on the site in the last 24 hours</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/crayon.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/crayon.png" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>And, perhaps most significantly of all, <a href="http://www.nevillehobson.com/">Joseph Jaffe</a>, <a href="http://www.managingthegray.com/">C.C. Chapman</a>, <a href="http://www.nevillehobson.com/">Neville Hobson</a> and <a href="http://blog.holtz.com/">Shel Holtz</a> are the first to found a company completely within Second Life called <a href="http://www.crayonville.com/">crayon</a>. Neville notes that crayon is <a href="http://www.nevillehobson.com/2006/10/22/its-time-to-unveil-crayon/">"both a real and a virtual company,"</a> which will be housed on Crayonville Island in Second Life, but will operate in the real world as "a true mash-up that combines the best in traditional and new thinking about marketing, advertising and PR."<br /><br />Shel also <a href="http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/introducing_crayon/">covers it well on his blog</a>, noting that crayon is "a startup that features a killer team of communicators and a laser-like focus on New Marketing."<blockquote>crayon is something of a mashup...not an agency or a consulting firm...We’ll approach our assignments with fresh eyes that see the new environment in which traditional marketing and advertising is failing so dismally...Engagement, conversation, co-creation, involvement—these are the approaches that we are anxious to bring to our assignments. Not as an afterthought or add-on, mind you, but as the cornerstone of our work.</blockquote>If you've never listened to C.C.'s shows or read his blog, <a href="http://www.cc-chapman.com/2006/10/23/i-always-did-like-to-color/">his enthusiasm is incredible</a> - you can really sense how excited he is to be part of this entity. I'd be just as excited if I were in his shoes. This is groundbreaking stuff.<br /><br />The official launch of crayon in Second Life is scheduled for Thursday. Stay tuned to see how this A-list team leads new marketing to new heights.

Color Me Impressed

I recently blogged about giving Second Life a second chance . It seems that there's more to Second Life than I initially thought. Con...

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What's the Deal with the GooTube Deal?

A lot of people have been asking about the value behind the $1.65 billion that Google paid for YouTube. Why would Google pay that much? Isn't YouTube going to be sued? What did Google really get for its money?<br /><br /><a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391683/index.htm?postversion=2006101610">An article in Fortune</a> makes the case that GooTube is in good shape, no matter what happens to he broadcast TV market:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/google_youtube.03.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/google_youtube.03.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><blockquote>Sure, all you can see on YouTube right now are relatively short, low-resolution clips, but if you imagine a day when we have much fatter digital pipes into the home, you realize that "feeds" à la the YouTube model are a much better and more gratifying way to consume video than the cumbersome video-downloading services operated by <a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL">Apple Computer</a> , <a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AMZN">Amazon.com</a> and others.<br /><br />Even if the future takes a while to get here, Goo-Tube wins. Google's interest in the video-sharing site has a lot to do with its belief in the staying power of conventional broadcast television and cable. YouTube gives Google a platform where TV advertisers can test and tailor campaigns.<br /></blockquote>With regard to the lawsuit claim, evidently YouTube is in good shape. Just before the deal was made with Google, three of the four major music companies <a href="http://news.com.com/Music+companies+grab+share+of+YouTube+sale/2100-1025_3-6127363.html">struck a deal</a> for a stake in YouTube. They stand to gain $50 million from the deal, which effectively shields YouTube from lawsuits.

What's the Deal with the GooTube Deal?

A lot of people have been asking about the value behind the $1.65 billion that Google paid for YouTube. Why would Google pay that much? Is...

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A New World Order

Congratulations to the crew at <a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com">Jaffe</a>, <a href="http://blog.holtz.com/">Holtz</a>, <a href="http://www.nevillehobson.com/">Hobson</a> and <a href="http://managingthegray.com/">Chapman</a> on <a href="http://theclientside.blogspot.com/2006/10/jaffe-holtz-hobson-and-chapman-newest.html">the new entity they have created</a> to bring new marketing/social media to the boardroom.<br /><br />Personally, I think this is a watershed event in the marketing world. With these four powerhouses working together to shape the future of new marketing, I'm confident that the concepts of new marketing/new media will be brought into the forefront of business and that more BtoB and BtoC companies will embrace the techniques.<br /><br />Talk about a dream job!

A New World Order

Congratulations to the crew at Jaffe , Holtz , Hobson and Chapman on the new entity they have created to bring new marketing/social media...

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Friday Fun Video

This week, most of the world is following the <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U">Dove Evolution of Beauty</a> video, in which a seemingly average woman is tranformed into breathtakingly beautiful model thanks to makeup artists, hairstylists, the ubiquitous modelling fan and Photoshop.<br /><br />I'd like to take a different approach and mention a video that we put together at work. It's our weekly happy hour, during which we drop work for a bit, unwind and socialize together. We showed this video to a potential client in a new business pitch, in order to show a little bit of our personality.<br /><br /><br /> <object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jptJhv0Lxsc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jptJhv0Lxsc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Friday Fun Video

This week, most of the world is following the Dove Evolution of Beauty video, in which a seemingly average woman is tranformed into breatht...

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Lesson Learned

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/003366.html"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/walmartblog219.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>The Edelman/Wal-Mart fiasco has been <a href="http://duncanriley.com/2006/10/16/an-open-post-to-steve-rubel/">playing</a> <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/10/on_edelman_and_.html">itself</a> <a href="http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/edelman_and_the_one_sided_conversation/">out</a> in the <a href="http://www.pr-squared.com/2006/10/edelmans_apology_acknowledgeme.html">PR</a> and <a href="http://www.whatsnextblog.com/archives/2006/10/strike_two_for_edelman_pr_as_their_second_fake_walmart_blog_is_revealed.asp">marketing</a> <a href="http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/10/16/did-edelman-drop-the-ball-on-wal-mart/">blogosphere</a> over the last 5 days or so. It finally reached its nadir when Richard Edelman stepped in <a href="http://www.edelman.com/speak_up/blog/archives/2006/10/a_commitment.html">to officially address</a> the issue.<br /><br />The irony here is striking: a company that established the guidlines for <a href="http://www.womma.org/">WOMMA</a> went ahead and completely ignored those guidelines, using professionals and being completely covert on the <a href="http://www.forwalmart.com/">Working Families for Wal-Mart</a> site.<br /><br />This lesson serves to reiterate a valuable lesson in social media: transparency. If you're trying to gain a unique audience share, it's important to be upfront with them about who you are, what point of view you'd like to take, and what you have to say. While there are one or two notable exceptions (LonelyGirl15, for example), if you're in a BtoB role, your readers moreso than others need to be able to trust you.<br /><br />If Edelman's reputation suffers in the short run from this situation, it's unfortunate. But they've served a valuable purpose - letting us all learn from their mistake.

Lesson Learned

The Edelman/Wal-Mart fiasco has been playing itself out in the PR and marketing blogosphere over the last 5 days or so. It finally re...

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What's Good for the Goose...

A couple of weeks ago, pundits and liberals had a field day with the Clinton Gone Wild video. That produced a huge wave of views, but I don't have stats here because so many users uploaded the FoxNews video; the views are spread widely over many uploads.<br /><br />Conservatives struck back this week with a video explaining why North Korea has the ability to conduct nuclear weapons testing in 2006.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7h3GPc_yMCE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7h3GPc_yMCE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

What's Good for the Goose...

A couple of weeks ago, pundits and liberals had a field day with the Clinton Gone Wild video. That produced a huge wave of views, but I don...

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Show Me the Money 2.0

<span style="font-style: italic;">The San Antonio Express-News</span> Business section <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA101006.01E.Web.2683b61.html">has picked up on the wave of Web 2.0 activity</a>. A quote from the article that we already know here: <span class="vitstorybody"><span class="vitstorybody"> "Social media are a huge opportunity for business."<br /><br />Some Web 2.0 stats from the <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Web_2.0.pdf">Pew Internet & American Life Project</a> survey covered in the article:<br /></span></span><span class="vitstorybody"><span class="vitstorybody"><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Percentage of Internet users who have done this Web 2.0 activity:</span> </p> <p> <strong> 34%:</strong> Used the Internet to get photos developed or display photos. </p> <p> <strong> 30%: </strong>Rated a product, service or person using an online rating system. </p> <p> <strong> 27%: </strong>Shared files from their own computer with others online. <br /></p> <p> <strong> 26%:</strong> Shared something online that they created themselves, such as artwork, photos or videos. </p> <p> <strong> 18%:</strong> Taken material found online — like songs, text or images — and remixed it into their own artistic creation. </p> <p> <strong> 14%:</strong> Created or worked on their own Web page. </p> <p> <strong> 13%:</strong> Created or worked on Web pages or blogs for others, including friends, groups they belong to, or for work. </p> <p> <strong> 11%: </strong>Used online social or professional networking sites like Friendster or LinkedIn. </p> <p> <strong> 8%:</strong> Created or worked on online journal or blog. </p></span></span><br />These numbers are really remarkable, because just 2 years ago, they were probably about half this size. I would hazard a guess that in the next year, we'll see an explosion in the above, with more consideration being given to these entities in the BtoB space.

Show Me the Money 2.0

The San Antonio Express-News Business section has picked up on the wave of Web 2.0 activity . A quote from the article that we already kno...

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Beware of Falling Social Networks

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/wal_mart.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/wal_mart.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>After only 10 weeks, <a href="http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=49244&Nid=24031&p=313502">Wal-Mart is closing their attempt at a social networking site,</a> The Hub. Evidently, they went a little overboard with product promotion, and users quickly lost interest in such an obvious self-serving site.<br /><br />The firms that get it right are the ones who stand aside. My definition of social media helps to clarify the role of companies in the process:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Social Media is all about making tools available to enable and track conversations about your brand or product.</blockquote><br />These conversations are already going on. If you want to be the fly on the wall, you provide some vehicle, some nifty little tool or some cool new site that allows users to have these conversations more easily, and you follow the discussion.<br /><br />You don't market your product, you don't smack down or erase negative comments. You let it happen naturally. That's when customers will be themselves and will be more likely to trust your brand.

Beware of Falling Social Networks

After only 10 weeks, Wal-Mart is closing their attempt at a social networking site, The Hub. Evidently, they went a little overboard with ...

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Friday Fun Video

Nothing realted to marketing to remark upon. This is just a Geico commercial that I like, particularly because I'm an aspiring voice over artist and this video features <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_LaFontaine">Don LaFontain</a>e, one of the VO greats.<br /><br /><center><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZJMGS7l0wT8"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZJMGS7l0wT8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object></center><br /><br />Of further DLF interest is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RRHNfBJsEE">Five Guys in a Limo</a>, clearly an inside joke prepared for an industry award show. Worth a look.<br /><br /><center><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6RRHNfBJsEE"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6RRHNfBJsEE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object><br /><br /><br /><br /></center>

Friday Fun Video

Nothing realted to marketing to remark upon. This is just a Geico commercial that I like, particularly because I'm an aspiring voice ov...

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Do You Want Social Media with That?

As usual, David Armano at <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/10/drive_thru_mark.html">Logic+Emotion</a> makes a great case by analogy, both in writing and with one of his really cool images. He's a creative type, and does this much better than this humble account guy, so I'll let his work speak for itself:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/mc_marketing.1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/400/mc_marketing.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/mc_marketing.0.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><br /> <blockquote> "Today’s marketing mix has its own challenges. RSS feeds, Podcasts, Blogs, Viral content—it all sounds so yummy and immediately gratifying. Just like fast food. But We all know what fast food leads to. Putting together a marketing mix that looks like “one Social Media Network with a side of Viral, hold the mayo”—may not be the best thing for your business and brand."</blockquote> <br /> <a href="http://socialmediamarketing.blogspot.com/2006/09/if-youre-going-to-do-viral-do-it-right.html">I've said it before</a> on these pages, but allow me to reiterate it by extending Armano's analogy. If you think of your marketing plan like a diet, we all know that it's best to strive for a well-balanced diet. To live only on junk food - or on a single food group - is unhealthy.<br /> <br /> Now, there are certain individuals who can't eat sugar, or who are allergic to gluten, nuts or lactose. And there are those who make a conscious choice to abtain from eating meat or carbohydrates. Any good nutritionist (or in this case marketing advisor) needs to have a conversation with the patient (client) to understand what is feasible and what is not, before recommending an approach.<br /> <br /> For example, I have a client in the biotech/pharma space who is very open to hearing about new media. However, she steers clear of a corporate blog, because of the legal and regulatory issues that would be overwhelming in that industry. Creating an informative podcast is another story - one that is much better suited to their disposition, needs and strategy. But this is all backed up with a solid and comprehensive marketing plan across all media.<br /> <br /> In western Massachusetts, there's an annual food/agriculture/cultural festival called The Big E. It just wrapped up its nearly 3-week stint, but not without offering a handy guide "<a href="http://www.boston.com/ae/food/dishing/2006/09/my_kind_of_diet.html">The Big E Diet -- how to survive on 5,000 calories/day.</a>" From the morning sticky bun (560 calories) to the large fries at lunch (578 calories), to the modest snack of a turkey leg (148 calories), all the way through a late-night dessert of a cream puff (a whopping 618 calories), it's a mashup of comfort food and a cardiologist's nightmare.<br /> <br /> The point is you just can't live like that. For normal people, a pork chop sandwich with a side of cream of broccoli soup in a bread bowl is an anomoly or a curiosity. So do a frank assessment of your marketing diet and see what you have the appetite for. Maybe every once in a while, a cream puff is just the thing the doctor ordered.<br /> <br /> But please, make sure you keep eating apples.

Do You Want Social Media with That?

As usual, David Armano at Logic+Emotion makes a great case by analogy, both in writing and with one of his really cool images. He's a ...

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What's a Social Media Debate Between Friends?

My colleague Douglas Reynolds <a href="http://experience.douglasreynolds.com/2006/09/25/marketing/a-germ-of-a-thought-i-havent-even-added-the-yeast-yet/">recently noted</a> that this whole Web 2.0 thing "s<span style="font-style: italic;">ounds like the portal strategy of years ago</span>," as well as "<span style="font-style: italic;">the familiar frenzy of money eager to be relieved of its value</span>," and "<span style="font-style: italic;">a lot of questioning of the business model for social media sites</span>."<br /> <br /> To which I would reply: "Yes and no."<br /> <br /> While there is a sort of frenzy out there, the money being thrown around is nowhere near the astronomical an irrational figures of seven years ago. I would argue that the market has learned from its mistake, and if anything, venture capitalists are even more conservative with their investments as a result.<br /> <br /> The difference between Irrationality 1.0 and Irrational 2.0:<br /> <ul> <li>The Intenet is much more wide-spread and universal in use and therefore the new media have a broader reach</li> <li>Technology is such that many individuals and companieare developing applications, solutions, and business models</li> <li>Operating margins for a single-person shop doing a blog or some unique application code are almost neglible</li> <li>Any small investment in such entities will not sink the market overall</li> </ul> That being said, I would agree with Doug with the fact that there is a frenzy going on. Sites like <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/">Micro Persuasion</a>, <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/">TechCrunch</a>, and <a href="http://www.emilychang.com/go/ehub/">eHub</a> are dedicated to enlightening readers on the coolest 2.0 applications on a daily basis.<br /> <br /> It's what we do with these offerings that makes all the difference. A cool tool is useless until someone figures out a way to monetize it. It's one thing to show such a site to friends and family - but have you figured out how to present it to a client in a profitable way?<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Footnote (added 10/2/06, 10:35 a.m.):</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">BtoB Magazine</span> has a post called <a href="http://www.btobonline.com/article.cms?articleId=29202">When will the social media bubble burst?</a> Answer: never.<br /> <blockquote> The social media bubble isn't going to burst any more than the e-mail or instant messaging bubbles burst. In fact, there is no bubble. Bubbles need an air supply in the form of venture capital and inflated expectations from investors. They also need a payoff. Almost none of that exists in this market.</blockquote>

What's a Social Media Debate Between Friends?

My colleague Douglas Reynolds  recently noted that this whole Web 2.0 thing "s ounds like the portal strategy of years ago ," as ...

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Giving Second Life a Second Chance

I first took a look at <a href="http://www.secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> about four months ago, when I created an identity and promptly didn't do anything with it. Frankly, the concept of creating a persona in a "meta" universe just didn't do it for me - it was too similar to <a href="http://www.wizards.com/Dnd/">Dungeons & Dragons</a>.<br /> <br /> Lately, I've been hearing about Second Life at every turn: advertisers such as Toyota, Sun Microsystems and Wells Fargo are turning up there; <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/09/leo_burnette_st.html">Leo Burnett</a> just added a presence, evidently to link their creatives and to better understand the space.<br /> <a href="http://reuben.typepad.com/photos/photohosting/img1on_mou.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://reuben.typepad.com/photos/photohosting/img1on_mou.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br /> What's all this about, then? Real entities setting up shop in a virtual world? I suppose it's the next logical step from MySpace, in which it's a two-dimensional world. Second Life, in short, could be considered a mashup of MySpace and SimCity. Take the social networking aspect of the former and combine it with the ability to create something physical in the latter, and you've got the setting for unlimited advertising.<br /> <br /> The Economist does the subject a bit of justice with <a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7963538">Living a second life</a>.<br /> <br /> I think it's a little early to expect masses of people to create critical mass on Second Life, especially with so many other forms of social media that are easier to understand and implement. I can see the future potential of a BtoC advertising presence. At this point it's tough to see a strong BtoB application. One might be a life sciences company setting up a virtual call-in site or center of excellence for customers to interact with their experts for advice.<br /> <br /> But mainstream this is not. Let's face it: some individuals are still striving to get a first life.

Giving Second Life a Second Chance

I first took a look at Second Life about four months ago, when I created an identity and promptly didn't do anything with it. Frankly,...

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Friday Fun Video

There really isn't much commentary about this video, so I'll keep it short. Here in Massachusetts, we have Christy Mihos, an Indepdendent candidate, running for governor.<br /><br />One of the things that's been a huge concern here for the last decade for politicians and the public alike has been the <a href="http://www.masspike.com/bigdig/index.html">Big Dig</a>. Christy Mihos is no stranger to it, as he served on the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike and has been a notable critic of it.<br /><br />There's been a huge buzz about the ad that he released last week, slated to run only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., due to its content. I've been searching around for it since Saturday; the campaign caught on to the buzz (and probably received numerous requests) and finally posted it on <a href="http://www.christy2006.com/">the campaign Web site</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://www.hipcast.com/playweb?audioid=P03c34bf665e46a8f5f1286939e26993eYV56QFREYmJ9&buffer=5&fc=FFFFFF&pc=CCFF33&kc=FFCC33&bc=FFFFFF&player=vp24" frameborder="0" height="207" scrolling="no" width="248"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Let's see how long it takes before someone converts the Flash to mpeg and posts it on YouTube.<br /><br /></div></div>

Friday Fun Video

There really isn't much commentary about this video, so I'll keep it short. Here in Massachusetts, we have Christy Mihos, an Indepd...

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It's All Geek to Me

David Armano over at <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/09/geek_20.html">Logic+Emotion</a> has posted an uproariously funny graphic, along with a perspective on geekdom.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PQ08j2-dKYk/UugvT70mc1I/AAAAAAAAP8A/wjabp3PKIy0/s1600/geek2_0.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PQ08j2-dKYk/UugvT70mc1I/AAAAAAAAP8A/wjabp3PKIy0/s1600/geek2_0.gif" /></a></div> The Geek-types who used to be social outcasts (well, let's face it, some still are) are now at the pinnacle of the 2.0 phenomenon. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek">Wikipedia</a>, "geek" is defined as:<br /> <blockquote> A person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination, usually electronic or virual in nature.</blockquote> But to step it up from Geek 1.0, according to Armano, "these aren't your parents' Geeks. These are the Geeks that invent the Facebook's Firefoxes and Flickr's of the world."<br /> <br /> Bottom line: anyone with a passion about something specific, with a profound knowledge in that area - technology, literature, sports, music - is (or can be) a Geek. Hell, I'm a Marketing Geek!<br /> <br /> Thanks to a number of well-placed and innovative Geeks, we now have the ability to share our geekiness through user-generated experiences, creating opportunities for others to share our knowledge and enjoy the thing each of us is passionate about.<br /> <br /> The Geeks shall inherit the earth!

It's All Geek to Me

David Armano over at Logic+Emotion has posted an uproariously funny graphic, along with a perspective on geekdom. The Geek-types who us...

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If You're Going to Do Viral, Do it Right

Great post by <a href="http://whatsnextblog.com/">BL Ochman</a> on What's Next Blog, called <a href="http://www.whatsnextblog.com/archives/2006/09/viral_not_so_cheap_if_its_done_right.asp">Doing a Viral Campaign Ain't Cheap, or Easy</a>.<br /> <br /> An important, and sometimes overlooked principle is that "<span style="font-style: italic;">a viral campaign requires not only social media, which provides remarkable new tools, but also integration with offline marketing, from street teams and guerilla marketing, to billboards, TV, radio, and print.</span>"<br /> <br /> I would also argue that viral is not a channel that can necessarily be controlled. A true viral effort doesn't start out that way; it becomes viral by virtue of the audience connecting with it and making it viral. What clients (and sometimes we) term as 'viral' could otherwise simply be categorized as 'interactive.'<br /> <br /> As I've said here before and constantly barrage by colleagues with, social media by itself is not a solution. It's another option in an expanding array of marketing channels. In the BtoB space, it may not always be appropriate for a client, but it's important to have a working knowledge of the range of new media.<br /> <br /> It's nice to see my assertion backed up by BL Ochman: "<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">New media marketing is simply not a substitute for all others. It is a tool: one of the best ever created.</span>"<br /> <br /> Amen, sister.

If You're Going to Do Viral, Do it Right

Great post by BL Ochman on What's Next Blog, called Doing a Viral Campaign Ain't Cheap, or Easy . An important, and sometimes ove...

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The Importance of Being Social

Chris Heuer at the <a href="http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2006/09/19/the-importance-of-social-media/">Social Media Club</a> blog posts an interesting perspective on business and social implications of social media. Here are a few important takeaways:<br /> <div style="font-style: italic;"> </div> <blockquote> There are four major trends I see from where I sit today:</blockquote> <br /> <ol style="font-style: italic;"> <li>Social Media will become more of a business, but will retain the power from its personal passion, unlike new media in the big dotcom boom</li> <li>More individuals will band together in networks small and large, changing the very notion of freelancing and employment</li> <li>The corporation will be forever changed, traditional media will adapt before dying completely and all companies will become media companies thereby shrinking the advertising pie</li> <li>Ultimately, Social Media will be a primary catalyst in saving the world…or bringing about our demise</li> </ol> Check out the post. It's long, but certainly a thought-provoker. Makes you consider how social media fits into your life and what you're going to do about it.

The Importance of Being Social

Chris Heuer at the Social Media Club blog posts an interesting perspective on business and social implications of social media. Here are a...

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Blog Traffic Down? No Worries!

This is a bit ironic, coming on some RSS feed problems that I've been having. Bizhack notes <a href="http://www.sparkplug9.com/bizhack/index.php/2006/08/24/foolproof-blog-traffic-scheme/">a foolproof way to build blog traffic</a>.<br /><br />I particularly like #5. I'll try it once the feed is up and running again.

Blog Traffic Down? No Worries!

This is a bit ironic, coming on some RSS feed problems that I've been having. Bizhack notes a foolproof way to build blog traffic . I p...

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That's Weird

<a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/06/09/22/1637252.shtml">AOL cancelled the world premiere of the newest 'Weird Al' video</a>, "White & Nerdy," claiming that the video had already been leaked online.<br /> <br /> 'Weird Al' Yankovic writes <a href="http://www.myspace.com/weirdal">on his MySpace page</a>:<br /> <blockquote> Apparently, the video has already leaked online, and AOL doesn't feel comfortable doing a "World Premiere" promotion for a video that a number of people have seen already. Anyway, it's really a bummer... it would have been great promotion for the album...</blockquote> Why rely on a deal with AOL? Let <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw">YouTube</a> do the work for you! Posted on September 18, it already has over 822,000 views as of September 24, and 5,575 comments. <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/3i/~3/25973331/">3i makes a great point</a>: <span style="font-style: italic;">"The pre-release of the video actually affords AOL a chance to get into the social media space proactively and bring the community something additional of value. Unexpected? Yes. But not insurmountable if you’re thinking 2.0."</span><br /> <br /> <br /> <object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-xEzGIuY7kw"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-xEzGIuY7kw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object>

That's Weird

AOL cancelled the world premiere of the newest 'Weird Al' video , "White & Nerdy," claiming that the video had already...

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Not So LonelyGirl

In the last two weeks, the big discussion regarding online video has been around LonelyGirlGate.<br /><br />It turns out that LonelyGirl15 was not simply an self-vlogger, but rather the brainchild of a couple of guys in L.A. who were trying to jumpstart a career in full length film by scripting every video she made.<br /><br />A couple of observations from her "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd15ku_BVR0">My First Kiss</a>" video this week. First, it's the second most-viewed video of the week, with over 600,000 views. Evidently the scandal worked in her favor.<br /><br />Second, it seems a little odd, knowing that it's scripted, to hear Bree - whose MySpace account is currently the most-visited account this week and this month - to be so coy about telling us about her first kiss, leading up to it with phrases like:<br /><blockquote>"I really don't want to tell you, but..."<br /><br />and<br /><br />"Go away!"</blockquote><br /><br />If you don't want to tell us, and you're recording yourself, you probably don't really want us to go away.<br /><br />Someone's trying a little too hard to sound authentic.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Kd15ku_BVR0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Kd15ku_BVR0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Not So LonelyGirl

In the last two weeks, the big discussion regarding online video has been around LonelyGirlGate. It turns out that LonelyGirl15 was not simp...

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My Agency Can MOO, Can You?

I work at <a href="http://www.agencypja.com/">a full-service agency </a>that still has quite a bit of business in the print space. Which is why I was delighted to read <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/09/19/moo-flickrize-your-business-cards/">this Techcrunch post</a>.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.moo.com/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/moo.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>A company called <a href="http://www.moo.com/">MOO</a> announced that they can "Flickrize" business cards - that is, turn your <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a> photos into thick, glossy, mini-size business cards. This is a really smart move - Flickr has a wide following (demonstrated by the <a href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060830-110224">1.2 million photos that were tagged in the 24 hours</a> following the announcement of geotagging) and there's actually a revenue model behind this service.<br /> <br /> For a small agency or the solo practitioner without a big budget for new business pitches, this could be a unique leave-behind. Simply upload your creative to your Flickr account and use teh MOO interface. For 20 bucks, you can supply your audience with 100 cards of interesting, relevant and customized information in an easy-to-pass-along format.<br /> <br /> Along with another technology that I'll blog about tomorrow, this is a simple, yet powerful way to build awareness of your company's brand after you've left the building.

My Agency Can MOO, Can You?

I work at a full-service agency that still has quite a bit of business in the print space. Which is why I was delighted to read this Techc...

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"A Mind-Blowing New Advertising Model"

In <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/02/8387416/index.htm?postversion=2006091810">Viral Ads: It's an Epidemic</a>, CNN Money notes the popularity of using YouTube to distribute a viral message (or in the case of Smirnoff's Tea Partay, using their own Web site to post the video, and seeing it ripped and posted on YouTube therafter).<br /><br />The $64,000 question is <span style="font-style: italic;">"Can YouTube and Google Video figure out a way to make this a business?"</span> It's the question we are all asking ourselves around the office and in the agency business. Is this a sustainable business model? If advertising dollars are required, at what point do advertisers begin to fit into the model, and where do they fit without alienating the loyal audiences of these sites?<br /><br />YouTube has been inking deals lately (most recently with Warner Music, for a paid branded channel), but beyond that, there must be a some sort of financial infrastructure to support the incredible bandwith required by hosting hundreds of millions of videos. According to the article, <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"They hint that they are working on a mind-blowing new advertising model that may eclipse these efforts."</span><br /><br />Just what that model is, they don't say. We'll have to wait and see.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/shaveEverywhere-thumb.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>On the flip side, agencies think that a really good viral ad doesn't need to be promoted - it should create its own buzz. You can't will something to be viral (<a href="http://viralcartoon.blogspot.com/">or can you?</a>).<br /><br />At a social media roundtable last week, the group was trying to determine how<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.subservientchicken.com/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/200/subservient_chicken.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" /></a> (and whether) to advertise in social networks. We were discussing some of the hot viral campaigns (<a href="http://www.subservientchicken.com/">Su</a><a href="http://www.subservientchicken.com/">bservient</a><a href="http://www.subservientchicken.com/"> Chicken</a>, <a href="http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/">Shave Everywhere</a>, <a href="http://www.teapartay.com/">Tea Partay</a>) and what made them successful. I suggested they came on the scene, almost unannounced and had a single element in common: <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">entertainment value</span>.<br /><br />Lo and behold, at the conclusion of the CNN article, Kevin Roddy of BBH (the agency that created Tea Partay) says:<br /><blockquote>"I believe if you want to be successful in the world of viral, you need to play by the rules of entertainment, not the rules of selling. A lot of brands might have difficulty with that. But as soon as you [sell], people say, 'Well, I'm not going to do your work for you.'"</blockquote><br />Props to <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/">Steve Rubel</a> for the link.

"A Mind-Blowing New Advertising Model"

In Viral Ads: It's an Epidemic , CNN Money notes the popularity of using YouTube to distribute a viral message (or in the case of Smirno...

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Trail Blazers

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Am I blushing yet?<br /> <br /> Todd Defren of <a href="http://www.pr-squared.com/2006/09/wanna_see_what_the_media_pitch.html">PR Squared</a> fame picked up on <a href="http://socialmediamarketing.blogspot.com/2006/09/long-trail.html">my mention of Trailfire</a> and went one step further: he created <a href="http://www.trailfire.com/tdefren/trails/11864">an awesome trail on the Social Media Press Release</a>. Prepare to be enlightened about the SMPR.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.trailfire.com/" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/Trailfire.0.png" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>If you had any doubts about the power or functionality of <a href="http://www.trailfire.com/">Trailfire</a>, this should set your mind at ease. This is an incredibly powerful tool with some rich B2B potential.<br /> <br /> Now, rather than relying on a paragraph full of links that readers might click indiscriminantly (if at all), you can bring prospects, clients, employees, readers, etc. on a guided tour through sites of interest while telling them a story about why each page is important.<br /> <br /> Being able to lead your audience in a stepwise fashion while creating context around each page is a huge deal. The ability of Trailfire to personalize this experience, as if the trail owner is communicating directly with the reader, cannot be overstated.<br /> <br /> The only improvement I would like to see is some degree of feedback aside from the mail icon in each trail mark. If a reader could IM the author or comment on a trail mark, this could lead to more converations rather than commentary.

Trail Blazers

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Am I blushing yet? Todd Defren of PR Squared fame picked up on my mention of Trailfi...

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Behold, the Power of Blogs

Following up on their study on the use of podcasts in the B2B space, KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann commissioned <a href="http://www.knowledgestorm.com/MainServlet?ksAction=aboutus&subpage=s_pressrel&pageName=/resources/content/c_press_rel_071006.jsp">a joint study on the emering role of new media</a> specifically on the effect of purchasing decisions in the IT space.<br /><br />The study concluded that IT purchase decisions are heavily influenced by content found in blogs.<br /><br />Some top-level results about blogs:<br /><ul><li>80% claim to be blog readers, with 51% reading blogs at least once a week<br /></li><li>53% read blogs weekly for business information, while 57% read blogs on technology topics each week</li><li>70% of survey respondents recommend or pass along content from blogs at least once a month</li><li>More than 53% of survey respondents felt that content they read in blogs already impacts their work-related purchasing decisions</li></ul>And some highlights regarding RSS:<br /><ul><li>59% of respondents said they are "somewhat" to "very" familiar with RSS</li><li>31% subscribe to RSS feeds or readers</li><li>79% of respondents said they are accessing RSS feeds on specialized news topics, covering specific industry or company information, while only 36% of respondents are accessing blogs via RSS feeds</li></ul>Worth noting:<br /><blockquote>"New online media formats, such as blogs, will help companies better address shifting preferences and opinions in the B2B marketplace. Marketing campaigns will achieve even greater results because companies are now able to truly listen to and<br />come to understand their audiences' needs and wants through these mediums."</blockquote><br /><br /><br />Update (9/22/06): the ANA blog notes that <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/%7Er/blogs/kXlb/%7E3/25595682/b2b_blogs_more_.html">B2B blogs are more important than ever</a>.

Behold, the Power of Blogs

Following up on their study on the use of podcasts in the B2B space, KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann commissioned a joint study on the e...

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Podcasting: It's Not Just for Kids Anymore

KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann have embarked on a series of studies regarding the emerging role of new media on marketing. The first focuses on the <a href="http://www.knowledgestorm.com/MainServlet?ksAction=aboutus&subpage=s_pressrel&pageName=/resources/content/c_press_rel_071006.jsp">penetration of podcasting in the B2B space</a>.<br /> <br /> This is one of the first surveys focused specifically on the B2B audience and it clearly shows that podcasts, blogs and other new media types are viable mediums for reaching B2B technology buyers.<br /> <br /> Podcast usage among B2B technology buyers is significant and growing:<br /> <ul> <li>41% of survey respondents claim they have listened to podcasts on more than one occasion, while 13% stated that they "frequently" download or listen to them.</li> <li>32% of survey respondents stated their usage of podcasts has "Increased" or "Significantly Increased" in the last six months. The same question yielded 39% for blogs.</li> <li>B2B technology buyers are listening to podcasts for business interests, specifically technology-oriented topics</li> <li>Nearly 60% of respondents said that information on business or technology topics, currently delivered as white papers or analyst reports, would be more interesting as podcasts.</li> <li>55% of respondents would be more likely to consume white papers and analyst reports if they were delivered as podcasts.</li> </ul> And perhaps the biggest opportunity can evolve from this finding:<br /> <ul> <li>57% of the frequent podcast users stated their biggest challenge with podcasts is the scarcity of interesting content</li> </ul> Stacy Malone, vice president, interactive media director at Universal McCann concludes:<br /> <blockquote style="font-style: italic;"> "Business and technology-related subject material is a perfect match for podcasting content. Podcasts are no longer being used only for pure entertainment value. They are turning into an indispensable, business-critical information tool."</blockquote>

Podcasting: It's Not Just for Kids Anymore

KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann have embarked on a series of studies regarding the emerging role of new media on marketing. The first f...

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New Numa, New Media

A couple of interesting developments related to YouTube. First, a new site called <a href="http://www.viralvideochart.com/">Viral Video Chart</a> tracks the most talked-about videos on YouTube (thanks to <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/09/new_chart_track.html">Micro Persuasion</a> for the link).<br /> <br /> Coming in at #11 is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gg5LOd_Zus">New Numa</a>, a video by Gary Brolsma, the original Numa Numa kid (<span style="font-style: italic;">*see below for details on Numa Numa</span>). Here's the interesting part of New Numa: with this video, Gary is challenging viewers to participate in a contest to vie for $25,000 in grand prize money for the best video.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/Numa.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/Numa.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>Since the posting of the video on September 8, 2006 (<span style="font-style: italic;">one week ago!</span>), it has had over 1.6 million views - plus it's helpful to know on YouTube that others can rip your video and repost it under a diferent title, so the views may be significantly higher. "New Numa" (Gary's YouTube name) has nearly 1,200 subscribers and the video itself has encouraged nearly 20,000 comments.<br /> <br /> The New Numa has its own <a href="http://www.newnuma.com/">Web site</a>, on which Gary is immortalized in a logo. Once there, you can download ringtones, buy Numa Numa gear, chat with Gary, get the music from iTunes, and read a <a href="http://www.newnuma.com/press_release.html">press release from Jaeter Corporation</a>, the new media company that is hitching its wagon to Gary's star.<br /> <br /> It used to be that star personalities sprung from campaigns (think Jared, Mr. Whipple, etc.). Now media companies are taking advantage of individuals' 15 minutes of fame and trying to create a larger sensation out of it. What fame-seeking shlub can turn that down?<br /> <br /> For the two of you of you not familiar with the original Numa Numa, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/vqr2q3YPu4E">here it is</a>. Gary Brolsma had recorded this on his Webcam and sent it to a friend. Ever the pal, his friend uploaded it to the Internet and a star was born.<br /> <br /> If you ask me, the original is much better than the new also-ran. Plus, I like the logo.

New Numa, New Media

A couple of interesting developments related to YouTube. First, a new site called Viral Video Chart tracks the most talked-about videos on...

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The Long Trail

<a href="http://www.trailfire.com/">Trailfire</a> is a Web app that allows you to create context around your Web experience, and then share it with anyone.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/Trailfire.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/Trailfire.png" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>Subtitled "Rewire the Web with your point of view," Trailfire allows you to mark pages with annotations that can be either plain text or HTML (including dropped in widgets like those from YouTube or Google). The next time you mark a page with the same trail name, the pages are linked together in a trail.<br /> <br /> Its creators claim that there are "far-reaching implications towards creating a user generated meta-web, a Social Web." According to the site:<br /> <blockquote style="font-style: italic;"> <div class="blurb"> Trailfire is a hosted service that enables anyone to comment on any web page. Place a 'trail mark' on a page with your comments or notes. A trail mark can contain text, images, videos and other media types. When you give several marks the same 'trail name' you are forming your own navigation path on the web. We call this a 'Trail'.</div> <div class="blurb"> Anyone with a <a href="http://www.trailfire.com/pages/about/faq.php#faq2.4">compatible browser</a> can follow a trail. To make a trail, you will need a plugin to your browser. <a href="http://www.trailfire.com/pages/about/getting-started.php">Learn more</a>. </div> <div class="blurb"> Making trails is easy. Trails can be used for hundreds of reasons, ranging from serious research to serious fun. Use trails to organize and annotate web pages or to communicate your point of view. Share your trails by sending them via email, posting them on your blog or by publishing them on Trailfire.com. <a href="http://www.trailfire.com/pages/about/applications.php">Learn more</a>.</div> </blockquote> Trailfire runs a blog called <a href="http://occamsmachete.com/2006/08/the_social_web.html">Occam's Machete</a> ("Given two equally predictive theories, hack the stupid one to a pulp.") on which they've posted some early applications of the technology. Here's a screenshot of a trail at work:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/1600/Trailfire_screenshot.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/320/Trailfire_screenshot.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br /> <br /> There are some interesting BtoB implications here, as this seems to be a much more user-friendly and on-the-go version of <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/">Squidoo</a>, Seth Godin's brainchild that encourages a network of various experts to post their "lenses" on topics.

The Long Trail

Trailfire is a Web app that allows you to create context around your Web experience, and then share it with anyone. Subtitled "Rewir...

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Great Advertising + Marketing Posts

Just something for light for a Tuesday morning. This entry from Marketing Nirvana has been in my "drafts" folder for a while:<br /><br /><a href="http://mariosundar.wordpress.com/2006/08/09/purple-cowasaki-and-5-other-ponderables/"> 5 marketing/advertising/pr great posts</a>

Great Advertising + Marketing Posts

Just something for light for a Tuesday morning. This entry from Marketing Nirvana has been in my "drafts" folder for a while: 5 ...

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Quite a Sticky Wiki

Steve Rubel of <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/">Micro Persuasion</a> fame also writes a column for Advertising Age. In his lastest entry, <a href="http://adage.com/article?article_id=111747">Your Brand on Wikipedia</a>, he notes the importance of tracking your organization's entry in Wikipedia:<br /> <blockquote style="font-style: italic;"> Like it or not, the Wikipedia open-source phenomenon looms large right where companies are increasingly spending billions of dollars to jockey for position: on search-engine results pages.<br /> <br /> In all seriousness, as soon as brand managers learn where they stand on Wikipedia, there is a natural inclination to want to control it. Some, in fact, actively police it. After all, anyone can. But doing so is asking for trouble.</blockquote> This is one of those instances of social media marketing - like creating a fake identity on MySpace or even more current, like the YouTube/LonelyGirl15 stunt that's in the news (see <a href="http://www.newyorkmetro.com/arts/tv/features/19376/index.html?imw=Y">LonelyGirl15's Online Diary Is the Birth of a New Art Form</a>) - in which any disingenuous tinkering by corporations will be sniffed out and could negatively affect the brand.<br /> <br /> By all means, it's important to <a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/2006/08/23_things_every.html">monitor your company's reputation</a> on a variety of sources. But be careful about how you get involved in the conversation. For too long, marketers have been accustomed to controling the message as a one-way push of information.<br /> <br /> Now that we're engaging our audience in true conversations with powerful online tools, the temptation is to use those tools to try to control the message as best we can. Ignore that temptation. Let the conversations happen. Monitor them. Respond to them. But don't jump back into your old role.<br /> <br /> We had a debate here at the agency about a month ago, trying to decide whether or not to include "Create a Wikipedia Entry" as part of our Top 5 Social Media Recommendations for a client who was considering options for organic growth of awareness. Eventually we opted to omit it as a recommendation.<br /> <br /> Our reasoning was that the client already has content on the Web. Our job is to draw attention to it and let the conversations occur. Should a reader decide to create a wiki based on reading the content, then we would encourage the client to monitor and enhance the entry as appropriate. But we thought that it would be a mistake to lead off by creating one from scratch.

Quite a Sticky Wiki

Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion fame also writes a column for Advertising Age. In his lastest entry, Your Brand on Wikipedia , he notes th...

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BtoB Uses of Social Bookmarking

Today's <span style="font-style: italic;">Wall Street Journal</span> has an excellent section on <a href="http://online.wsj.com/page/2_1241.html">Technology Innovation</a>. Included in the section is <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115755372327355120.html?mod=2_1241_2">Information Found - And Shared</a>, <span style="font-style: italic;"></span> [registration may be required] about social bookmarking for corporate uses, such as information sharing in project management. It's cited as <span style="font-style: italic;">"a fairly quick way to get a widely distributed client team to be familiar with the company and the industry."</span><br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/cogenz_seeks_beta_testers/">Shel Holz</a><a href="http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/cogenz_seeks_beta_testers/"> mentions</a> that Niall Cook's startup, <a href="http://blog.cogenz.com/index.php/2006/09/10/">Cogenz</a>, aims to bring social bookmarking to the enterprise level and is currently seeking beta testers for industry segments. According to Holz, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Cogenz will offer a secure hosted site for use strictly within a single organization, bringing the benefits of social bookmarking to intranets and other internal networks."</span>

BtoB Uses of Social Bookmarking

Today's Wall Street Journal has an excellent section on Technology Innovation . Included in the section is Information Found - And Sha...

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Physician, Heal Thyself

<a href="http://www.marketingheadhunter.com/executive_search/2006/09/101_ways_to_imp.html">MarketingHeadhunter.com extols</a> the advice of Dr. Gary Witt's landmark publication <a href="http://www.marketingpsychology.com/webbook.pdf">101 Ways to Improve your Business Web Site</a>.<br /><br />Calling it "one of the best free resources out there," they cite the sections into which the paper is divided: Navigation, Look, Image, and Content. But I have to wonder: have they paid a visit to <a href="http://www.marketingpsychology.com/">Dr. Witt's home page</a>?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.marketingpsychology.com"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4564/341154559726763/400/MarketingPsych.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>

Physician, Heal Thyself

MarketingHeadhunter.com extols the advice of Dr. Gary Witt's landmark publication 101 Ways to Improve your Business Web Site . Calling ...

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Friday Fun Video

You've probably seen this video already, since it's one of the most popular videos on YouTube (currently ranked at #16 with over 5.5 million views).<br /><br />According to Advertising Age in <a href="http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=111678">YouTube Success Rockets Band to Fame</a>, their video "A Million Ways" inspired so many me-too videos to be sent to them that they launched an online contest using YouTube. They followed it up with this hilarious treadmill dance sequence.

Friday Fun Video

You've probably seen this video already, since it's one of the most popular videos on YouTube (currently ranked at #16 with over 5.5...

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Old vs. New

David Meerman Scott has a couple of interesting posts on Web Ink Now:<br /> <br /> In the old days, <a href="http://www.webinknow.com/2006/08/the_old_rules_o.html" style="font-weight: bold;">marketing simply meant advertising</a>:<br /> <ul> <li>Advertising needed to appeal to the masses.</li> <li>Advertising relied on interrupting people to pay attention to a "message".</li> <li>Advertising was one-way: company-to-consumer.</li> <li> Advertising was exclusively about selling products.</li> <li>Advertising was based on "campaigns" that had a limited life.</li> <li>"Creativity" was deemed the most important component to advertising.</li> <li>The agency winning advertising awards was more important than the client winning new customers.</li> <li>Advertising and PR were separate disciplines run by different people with separate goals, strategies and measurement criteria. </li> </ul> The Web, of course, is different. Instead of one-way interruption, marketing is about delivering content at just the precise moment that it is needed by a buyer.<br /> <br /> In a separate post, he takes notice of <a href="http://www.webinknow.com/2006/08/think_like_a_pu.html" style="font-weight: bold;">the new publishing model</a>: <span style="font-style: italic;">It is about delivering content when and where it is needed and branding you or your organization as a leader in the process. </span><br /> <br /> Note the key word in the first phrase: <span style="font-weight: bold;">content</span>. While some may be romanced by the latest tools, technology and widgets, it's a strong content strategy that drives a successful campaign. Then and only then can the latest hoo-hah be used to bring the content to life.

Old vs. New

David Meerman Scott has a couple of interesting posts on Web Ink Now: In the old days, marketing simply meant advertising : Advertising ...

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