Scott Monty

A Project for My Community

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2349/2116285078_f4695e5fee_m.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2349/2116285078_f4695e5fee_m.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" /></a>In December of 2007, I slipped down my driveway, which was coated in 1/2" of pure ice. I foot-skied down the driveway, probably getting up to about 20 mph before I hit the bottom and was thrown into the street. <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsmonty/sets/72157603472928154/">Here's a shot of the scene</a> after a recent snowfall, for perspective. I injured my ribs & back pretty severely - but it's all soft tissue damage, no breaks - and I've been trying to recover. Since then, we've had three significant snowfalls and another one is looming. There's been little time to allow for the healing process in between. Shoveling that monster has been a series of grueling tasks. Because of a variety of circumstances, we haven't been able to afford a snowblower (a previously purchased used Toro was a debacle) and the setup of our driveway makes hiring a plow impractical and impossible. As a result, it's all shoveling for me. And it's really taking its toll on me physically (and often mentally too). I am not usually one to ask for help or to try to get anything out of my social media networks. So you can imagine that the circumstances - both financially and physically - must be pretty dire to warrant me asking for assistance. Seeing how the community <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/12/social-media-takeaways-6.html">has rallied around many other members this year</a>, I thought that maybe - just maybe - there might be a little charity left for me this season. So I've <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.chipin.com/contribute/id/4f8644617a3b2162">started a ChipIn</a> to help reach the goal of buying a snowblower that can handle the hill. If this angle doesn't work out - and I have very low expectations - perhaps <a href="http://www.toro.com/">Toro</a>, <a href="http://www.sears.com/">Sears</a> or <a href="http://www.lowes.com/">Lowes</a> are paying attention. It would be an interesting project for them to be involved in. From a personal perspective, you don't know how hard it is for me to ask for help. I'm really opening myself up to my extended network here, and I feel completely vulnerable. But if you can spare anything that could help me to clear my drive way and allow my injuries to heal this season, I'm sure my vulnerability would be replaced with humility, sheer gratitude and awe at the power of social networks. <center> <object height="250" width="250"><param name="movie" value="http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/4f8644617a3b2162"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed allowscriptaccess="never" src="http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/4f8644617a3b2162" flashvars="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="250" width="250"></embed></object></center>

A Project for My Community

In December of 2007, I slipped down my driveway, which was coated in 1/2" of pure ice. I foot-skied down the driveway, probably getting...

Going Truly Digital This Holiday Season

I don't know if you've heard, but Queen Elizabeth II is going digital, as <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140799-page,1/article.html">she releases her annual Christmas message on YouTube</a>. What's more, the Royal Family has even established <a href="http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=TheRoyalChannel">its own channel on YouTube</a>. Not bad for an institution that 10 years ago was being thought of as potentially irrelevant and extinct. I addressed my share of holiday cards this year (well, truthfully, I used mail merge and address labels, but there was manual labor involved), but I thought what a great time to start integrating some digital messaging as well. Here's one for you: <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-d0667e5a6e952379-19148" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyQKuflc9FsZfbUvdnPh7_3Old_2ZLwE9X28xHY6c-dc01YYvoUpxSBZ_aSaJaMQ3n2byV_CVzeIKws-r18CJ8cpX3ZgfwkoTuG0rHCLtRaFpKbGQBuM2gysCQUM6w8L1x4EoDG" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe> </div> While I recognize that not everyone on my list is able to send/receive electronic messages, odds are the percentage will grow higher each year. Which is why it's cool that I can record a message like this with <a href="http://oovoo.com">ooVoo</a>, <a href="http://www.seesmic.com">Seesmic</a>, or any number of applications. If I really get my act together, I can do the ultimate cool thing: connect with up to 5 people at a time on a video chat via <a href="http://www.oovoo.com/download">ooVoo</a>, which could make for some fun holiday interaction. Whatever you're doing for the holidays, be safe and enjoy. And I look forward to hearing from you in whatever manner you choose to communicate. Disclosure: ooVoo is a client of my company, <a href="http://www.crayonville.com">crayon, LLC</a>.

Going Truly Digital This Holiday Season

I don't know if you've heard, but Queen Elizabeth II is going digital, as she releases her annual Christmas message on YouTube . Wha...

Social Media Takeaways #6

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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0RgHKNtQJWg/UuhBM4M_TOI/AAAAAAAAP80/ZspKDPlz_M4/s1600/takeout+box+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0RgHKNtQJWg/UuhBM4M_TOI/AAAAAAAAP80/ZspKDPlz_M4/s1600/takeout+box+man.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
It's been a little while since I've posted a set of Takeaways... The past couple of weeks have been busy (what with 3 snowstorms and a set of bruised ribs to slow down my shoveling), not to mention plenty of work. 
 
This installment is really only a single takeaway, but it's inspired by a number of selfless activities that I've been watching on Twitter over the past 3 weeks or so. During that time, we saw Twitter used for a variety of public service announcements: 
 
Helping <a href="http://savemanessa.wordpress.com/">a young girl who ran away</a>(Courtesy of <a href="http://pistachioconsulting.com/blog/">@Pistachio</a>) 
 
News of a BlogNation editor who <a href="http://us.blognation.com/2007/12/03/marc-orchant-suffers-massive-coronary">suffered a massive heart attack and later passed away</a> 
(via <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/">@steverubel</a>) 
 
Public call for <a href="http://www.disruptiveconversations.com/2007/12/my-own-open-let.html#comment-92437682">reinstatement of a post</a> about said editor 
<a href="http://www.disruptiveconversations.com/">via @danyork</a>) 
 
Computer algorithm <a href="http://digg.com/health/Never_ending_kidney_donation/share">matches donors and recipients</a> to kick off transplant chain 
(via <a href="http://www.everydotconnects.com/">@conniereece</a>) 
 
Fundraising to support <a href="http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php">One Laptop Per Child</a> 
(via everyone) 
 
Collecting information on <a href="http://twitter.com/santacause">companies that share their revenues with charities</a> 
(via <a href="http://www.providentpartners.net/blog/">@AlbertMaruggi</a>) 
 
A number of tweets have promoted goodwill gestures for the troops, such as sending care packages or messages. <a href="http://www.utterz.com/">Utterz</a> has even gotten into the swing of it (via <a href="http://web-strategist.com/blog/">@jowyang</a>) 
 
And finally, one of the most significant: there has been an outpouring of support for <a href="http://susanreynolds.blogs.com/boobsonice/">Susan Reynolds</a>, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She took to using bags of frozen peas in lieu of ice packs, and Twitter turned out in force, updating their avatars, joining <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/frozenpeafriday/">a Flickr group for Frozen Pea Friday</a>, creating a <a href="http://www.frozenpeafund.com/">fund for breast cancer research</a>, and sharing links through <a href="http://twitter.com/PEAple">an aggregated account</a>. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: Twitter can be used for any number of purposes, but it's encouraging to see folks using it for public good as well as <a href="http://twitter.com/juliaroy/statuses/458671472">just for fun</a>. I hope that ths is not simply a side-effect of the holiday season, but something that wil continue throughout the year.</li>
</ul>
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Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41218664@N02/4935614128/in/photolist-8w9j8j-bxJnMH-99zQRk-8jZWPu-7JtH1b-d7j1v1-913emx-91kkDh-hK3knk-hK2fWF-hK3kt2-9qar23-dVh4Lt-8e3RkP-iL8di9-iL65Cb-iL5zSz-iL8ew1-iL4e8c-bvgJwn-bi8VGn-bh9JYn-9Ja3Uk-bsEo87-bFzgUx-7ZdWQT-c6jgNy-8Hhe29-8hvDYs-c6jgwY-8RFfyv-7KgCWV-7KkyXY-8He6rX" target="_blank">EvanHahn (Flickr)</a></div>
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Social Media Takeaways #6

It's been a little while since I've posted a set of Takeaways... The past couple of weeks have been busy (what with 3 snowstorms ...

Can a Commodity Be Entertaining?

It had sure as hell try to be, if it needs your attention to succeed. We're tired of interruptions. We want entertainment. But how do you provide entertainment when you're dealing with a commodity? How do you make people thing a little differently about something they know as if it's a part of them? How you you make them care enough about your product that they'll want to share it with others? The guys of Straight No Chaser came up with the perfect solution. Or so thought 3.3 million (and counting) viewers on YouTube (click through if you can't see this in a feedreader). <center><object height="373" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Fe11OlMiz8&rel=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Fe11OlMiz8&rel=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="373" width="425"></embed></object></center> While a capella singing may not be your thing, you have to admit that these guys really got your attention. They took the expected and made it unexpected. They transformed the familiar and mundane to humorous. Is this effective? What are you doing to stand out from the crowd? Let me know your thoughts.

Can a Commodity Be Entertaining?

It had sure as hell try to be, if it needs your attention to succeed. We're tired of interruptions. We want entertainment. But how do yo...

The Best Pitch I've Received

You've probably heard me rant over some bad pitches from time to time. As a matter of fact, they inspired me to create the section in my sidebar titled "Before You Pitch Me," which contains posts from a number of PR, marketing and social media colleagues, as well as from me. So it was with great relief that I opened a pitch email this morning and was greeted with a comparative ray of sunshine. The message, from Julie Szabo, was simple: <blockquote>Subject: We made this 2-minute video for you </blockquote>Okay, good. I know I'm dealing with a video, and I know it'll only eat up 2 minutes of my time. And then the body of the email: <blockquote>Hi Scott, Our video says it all. It's on this page that we made just for you. [Link to the video] </blockquote>That was it. Plain & simple. Naturally, curiosity got the better of me and I clicked through to the video to see this: <center><object height="373" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uSd0V5MxdRQ&rel=1&border=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uSd0V5MxdRQ&rel=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="373" width="425"></embed></object></center> You'll note that in the video, Julie & Darren: <ol><li>Addressed me by name</li><li>Made a note of where I'm from</li><li>Acknowledged that they read the section of my blog about how I like to be pitched</li></ol>The rest of their message was a broader one about their new ebook, <a href="http://www.socialmediaready.com/">Getting to First Base</a>, a social media marketing playbook, and who it's for. I'll be reviewing it in a future post, but I can tell you that if the authors are following their own advice as they <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2007/12/how-to-get-the.html">reach out to busy people</a>, then it's going to be a very positive review.

The Best Pitch I've Received

You've probably heard me rant over some bad pitches from time to time. As a matter of fact, they inspired me to create the section in my...

Another Productivity App

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1Yn4hDo-SI/AAAAAAAAAkg/mM9bUJ9Yrkw/s1600-h/jott_logo_beta.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140339876589795618" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1Yn4hDo-SI/AAAAAAAAAkg/mM9bUJ9Yrkw/s200/jott_logo_beta.gif" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Are you using <a href="http://www.jott.com/">Jott</a> yet? In <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/10/my-podcamp-boston-2-presentation.html">my PodCamp Boston presentation</a>, I reviewed a number of Web 2.0 applications that could actually make your life more productive (rather than <a href="http://www.moola.com/">less</a>). It's a simple voice-to-email system that allows you to be productive while you're mobile. It's probably just the thing for realtors, road warriors and robber barons alike. You call (866) JOTT-123 to leave a message for yourself, another individual or even a group and things start happening. But where it really gets interesting is when you use <a href="http://jott.com/how-to/jott-links/">Jott Links</a>. Every time I turn around, I see that Jott has integrated itself with another cool application. For example: <ul><li><a href="http://twitter.com/scottmonty">Twitter </a>- you can Jott a message that will appear in your Twitter stream. </li><li>Blogger, WordPress and Typepad - you can Jott directly to your blog</li><li><a href="http://www.zillow.com/">Zillow </a>- for all of you realtors, you can look up Zestimates in the car</li><li>Google Calendar - make appointments on the go</li><li><a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/">Remember the Milk</a> - add to your to do list while you're thinking of it</li><li><a href="http://www.xpenser.com/">Xpenser </a>- keep track of your expenses while you're out </li></ul>The list goes on and on. It's really worth checking out and adding to your arsenal.

Another Productivity App

Are you using Jott yet? In my PodCamp Boston presentation , I reviewed a number of Web 2.0 applications that could actually make your life ...

I'm Virtually Working

[Note: the following is a feature that I originally wrote for <a href="http://www.mediabullseye.com/">Media Bullseye</a>. If you don't subscribe to this unique e-magazine of the communications field, I strongly suggest you check it out. And while you're at it - you do subscribe to my blog, don't you?] One of the realities that we face in this increasingly online world is that more of our previously "analog" activities are now becoming digital. From shopping and banking to project management and document retrieval, there are more Web-based applications that make our lives easier to manage from in front of the screen. Which begs the obvious question: if apps can be Web-based, then why can’t workers? With so much focus on work-life balance, flex time and family-friendly workplaces, more companies are discovering that non-traditional working environments may benefit their employees and their company. In other words, "flex" might very well apply to place rather than time - and "work" doesn’t necessarily mean a fluorescent-lit cube farm. I think there’s a unique confluence of events that occurred beginning at the close of 2001 which got us to where we are today. Part technological, part sociological, these situations have led to the same inevitable conclusion: we’ll be seeing many more jobs that do not require physical relocation, and even more that encourage part-time work from home. <ol><li>September 11, 2001. The business travel market shrank significantly after the terrorist attacks, for a couple of reasons: less free cash flow meant reining in expenses, and travel budgets were an easy target; and Americans were a little hesitant to step back on airplanes after seeing what had happened, preferring rather to stay close to home and hearth. Organizations began looking into more virtual presence applications, such as video conferencing and Web-based presentation software, to substitute face-to-face client and departmental meetings.</li> <li>The rise of universally available high-speed access. First it was DSL and cable that became mainstream. Now FiOS is quickly following suit and wireless network cards for the real road warriors are about as cheap as a cell phone plan. Any way you look at it, there is ubiquitous high-speed access wherever we go. Good riddance, dial-up!</li> <li>Web-based software becomes endemic. The ability to share photos, files, and other data online has nearly made boxed software disposable – especially when you consider many of these are free.</li> <li>"Soft" benefits are being sold by HR. Driven mainly by the FMLA, paternity leave is becoming more of a norm, HR departments have realized that allowing workers the time to participate in their childrens’ activities will make for a happy, more productive workforce. And let’s not forget the growing number of commuters out there on the roads each day. The traffic isn’t getting any lighter. By allowing work to be done off-hours and from home, the enterprise can still thrive while encouraging employees to lead fulfilling and less stressful lives.</li></ol> So, combine less frequent business travel with online access and software improvement, add to it changing attitudes about when and where we work, and you’ve got the perfect storm for the rise of the virtual employee. My own company, <a href="http://www.crayonville.com/">crayon</a>, is a virtual company. We are scattered around the Northeast and work from home offices, but we use new media technologies to stay in touch and hold meetings – from <a href="http://www.skype.com/">Skype</a> for our primary phone and IM service, to <a href="http://www.oovoo.com/">ooVoo</a> for up to 6 people in a video chat, to <a href="http://www.crayonvillesecondlife.com/">Second Life</a> for open houses and large presentations, to <a href="http://www.basecamphq.com/">Basecamp</a> for project and client management, we don’t need office space. ABC World News Tonight even <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/08/abc-news-waxes-futuristic.html">did a feature story on this</a>. Now, that’s not to say that we eschew face-to-face meetings. On the contrary, we believe they’re an essential part of how we do business. We check in with each other regularly and have monthly meetings in person. But we know that each one of us has the freedom to work how he or she chooses, and it means that our families are happier, our clients are satisfied and we have the opportunity to build the business of the future. Everyone wins. I fully expect that more companies will embrace this type of workforce in the near future. In this age of information and conversation, it’s the knowledge workers who will be most sought after - and it’s a seller’s market. Don’t expect them to uproot their families just so they can come to work at a generic-looking office park in a nondescript suburb. A top-notch hire will be able to work wherever he or she wants and will likely choose the company that reflects those values. The question is: are you virtually prepared?

I'm Virtually Working

[ Note: the following is a feature that I originally wrote for Media Bullseye . If you don't subscribe to this unique e-magazine of the ...

We Know Why You Use Social Media

<a href="http://www.aadvantagemilefindermap.com/map" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142437482782587202" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R12bpRDo-UI/AAAAAAAAAkw/PNZkzsQTYGg/s200/AAMilefinder_logo.png" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>At <a href="http://www.aa.com/">American Airlines</a>, the tagline is "We know why you fly." Sounds a little spooky, in a Big Brother-ish way at first. But really, it's a matter of AMR listening to their customers and being able to act accordingly. Well, now they're using social media to let customers know about each other - more like "We know why we fly." 
 
AMR's <a href="http://www.aadvantage.com/">AAdvantage</a> unit - their frequent travel program and one of their most profoundly successful business units - has <a href="http://www.aadvantagemilefindermap.com/map">forayed into social media</a>. While it's nothing as sexy as a social network or a new Facebook app, it is nevertheless a way that AMR is letting its most loyal members interact with each other. 
 
 In late October, under the guidance of my company, <a href="http://www.crayonville.com/">crayon</a>, they launched the <a href="http://www.aadvantagemilefindermap.com/map">AAdvantage Milefinder Map</a>, a mashup of the Google Maps API and AAdvantage partner data. If you log on to the map, you can see hotels, restaurants, car rental agencies and other partner information, sorted around 11 city centers. At this point, it's just a pilot program (I know, sorry!) and AMR may expand it to other cities based on the response. Users can use the standard social media sharing functions such as Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, etc. to share their findings. But most importantly, they can submit reviews of each vendor, in order to better inform other AAdvantage members of places to visit or avoid, based on their experience. The comments are monitored for off-topic rants, profanity, or any other untoward activity. But in their commitment to keeping the experience as transparent and authentic as possible, AMR is leaving any negative posts up. I give them full credit for doing so, for it's not easy for a large brand to let go of control. Finally, I'm happy to see that this approach - using online tools to help steer offline decision making - is gaining traction. ComScore and the Kelsey Group recently found that <a href="http://blogs.mediapost.com/research_brief/?p=1590">offline purchase behavior is influenced by online reviews</a>. In fact, percentage of people who consider online reviews in the top 3 categories match the major AAdvantage Milefinder Map categories: 
<ul>
<li>Restaurants - 41%</li>
<li>Hotels - 40%</li>
<li>Travel - 27%</li>
</ul>
 This is good news to other brands that may be a little hesitant to try some online experiments, knowing that their purchases are really done offline. The line between online and offline is continuing to blur in a very interesting way. One flows into th next and information is collected, analyzed and acted upon an a variety of ways. Are there any industries that you typically research online and then purchase offline? What are they?

We Know Why You Use Social Media

At American Airlines , the tagline is "We know why you fly." Sounds a little spooky, in a Big Brother-ish way at first. But really...

Is It Viral or WOM? What's the Difference?

I've been having a really interesting Twitter debate (Twitdebate?) with <a href="http://www.financialaidpodcast.com/">Christopher S. Penn</a> and <a href="http://www.providentpartners.net/blog">Albert Maruggi</a> about the difference between word of mouth (WOM) and viral marketing. You can follow <a href="http://twitter.com/cspenn">Chris</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/AlbertMaruggi">Albert</a> on Twitter as well. Albert was wondering what to call the spread of a commercial like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJL5dxgVaM">Swear Jar</a> and Chris chimed in with "<a href="http://twitter.com/cspenn/statuses/475703892">word of mouth</a>." I disagreed, saying there's an inherent difference between WOM and viral. I would have elaborated, but you know, <a href="http://twitter.com/scottmonty">140 characters</a> and all... <object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EJJL5dxgVaM&rel=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EJJL5dxgVaM&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object> So I'm opening it up here to a larger debate. I think that WOM is a one-to-one or one-to-few methodology with an influencer asking for the listener to try / look at something. The expectation is that the listener will then start using a product or service. There's a specific call to action. Viral, on the other hand, is much more about creating something that is dependent upon network of people to pass it along. It's a one-to-few-to-few-to-few.... model. If a campaign / site / video goes viral, it does so by virtue of being worthy of being passed along and without a specific call to action (albeit the unspoken CTA is "pass this along"). I guess I'd sum up my position as follows: WOM is tied to making people try/buy things and if done well, results in a long-term impression. Viral, on the other hand, is tied to making people pass things along and is more or about creating a quick buzz. My Parthian shot: people create viral videos, not WOM videos. For more information, the <a href="http://www.hmtweb.com/blog/2006/10/difference-between-bzz-marketing-viral.html">Internet Marketing Driver</a> had a great post on this subject. Update: here's <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/10/is-viral-market.html">a post from Seth Godin</a> that stuck with me and influenced my position above. So now the fun begins. What do you have to say about all of this?

Is It Viral or WOM? What's the Difference?

I've been having a really interesting Twitter debate (Twitdebate?) with Christopher S. Penn and Albert Maruggi about the difference be...

Great New Portal Hits the Spot

<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1ZDxhDo-TI/AAAAAAAAAko/i8yAgWxqNsE/s1600-h/Bullseye.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140370542656289074" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1ZDxhDo-TI/AAAAAAAAAko/i8yAgWxqNsE/s200/Bullseye.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a><a href="http://www.pardonthedisruption.com/">Chip Griffin</a> is a visionary. He keeps churning out start-ups that are simple in concept, yet elegant in execution. <a href="http://www.customscoop.com/">Custom Scoop</a> was an idea whose time had come - a new media clipping service, catching the best in blog and podcast content; and <a href="http://www.corkandknife.com/">Cork & Knife</a> is a e-magazine for foodies. That appeals to my <a href="http://www.nothingcouldbefinerdiner.com/">inner diner</a>. 
 
Yesterday, he launched his latest - <a href="http://www.mediabullseye.com/mb/">Media Bullseye</a>. Put briefly, Chip publishes it "to provide media, public relations, and marketing professionals with news and commentary about the modern communications landscape." But the cool part is that it combines video, audio, feature commentary and aggregated content, presenting it all in one slick interface. And naturally, it's completely RSS-able. It's definitely worth checking out. 
 
And here's Chip himself to tell you about his vision. 
 
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I'm honored to be <a href="http://mediabullseye.com/mb/2007/12/im-virtually-working.html" style="font-weight: bold;">one of the early contributors to the site</a>. Joining other social media greats like Chris Brogan and Chris Thilk is an honor (I'm lucky I got in, seeing as my given name isn't Chris). We'll see if I can turn this into a regular feature. 
 
What do you think? Is this an idea whose time has come? Any suggestions for Chip?

Great New Portal Hits the Spot

Chip Griffin is a visionary. He keeps churning out start-ups that are simple in concept, yet elegant in execution. Custom Scoop was an ide...

100 Posts, 100 Reasons to Follow

<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1WAJRDo-RI/AAAAAAAAAkY/I95bXBTIX24/s1600-h/100.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140155446399138066" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1WAJRDo-RI/AAAAAAAAAkY/I95bXBTIX24/s200/100.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>If you don't know <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/">Chris Brogan</a> yet, where have you been? Chris is one of the founders of <a href="http://www.podcamp.org/">PodCamp</a>, does some amazing stuff with text, audio and video, knows how to build communities, and on top of that, is a genuinely nice guy. 
 
Chris is forever asking great questions, partly out of curiosity and partly out of a desire to drive his community to action. I've seen it happen many times, when he blasts a question out to Twitter and gets <a href="http://chrisbrogan.com/twitter-literati/">a wealth of responses</a> that help him make a decision, find a location, or achieve clarity. 
 
This time, Chris is dedicating <a href="http://chrisbrogan.com/my-next-100-posts/">his next 100 posts</a> to giving back to his community. As he puts it, he'll be "helping you grow the value of your social media and social networking efforts." 
 
Bookmark his site and follow along as he'll surely provide a lot of value and introduce you to some really smart people in the process.

100 Posts, 100 Reasons to Follow

If you don't know Chris Brogan yet, where have you been ? Chris is one of the founders of PodCamp , does some amazing stuff with text, ...

For You, and for the Children

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1OZCxDo-QI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/_3vO9EGE4k0/s1600-R/SEMsyndicatedcover.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139619872567261442" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1OZCxDo-QI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/Vu6RHQobwgw/s200/SEMsyndicatedcover.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>I've been receiving <a href="https://www.searchmarketingstandard.com/">Search Marketing Standard</a> for the better part of a year - and if you don't subscribe, you should really consider doing so. To my surprise, they've been around for a little longer that I thought; this month, they're celebrating their 2-year anniversary as a matter of fact! And as part of their celebration, they're giving a discount to readers of the Social Media Marketing Blog. If you would like to subscribe, you can receive a 67% discount off the normal rate, bringing the U.S. cost down to just $4.95 a year! In addition, SMS will donate $1 for every new subscription to the <a href="http://www.toysfortots.org/">Toys for Tots Foundation.</a> Just use the coupon code HOLIDAY67 when you <a href="https://www.searchmarketingstandard.com/subscribe.html">subscribe to Search Marketing Standard</a> between now and December 10th and you can begin receiving a top-notch publication related to search for a great price and you'll be making a difference in the lives of children for the holidays.

For You, and for the Children

I've been receiving Search Marketing Standard for the better part of a year - and if you don't subscribe, you should really conside...

Facebook's Beacon Gets a Little Brighter

<blockquote>Modest doubt is call’d The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches To the bottom of the worst. <div style="text-align: right;">- William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, Act ii Sc. 2</div></blockquote> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AwBdET-rI/AAAAAAAAAj4/VdF4XXDwtOU/s1600-R/Doubt.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138659976370453170" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AwBdET-rI/AAAAAAAAAj4/Oz1gdH0uM1g/s200/Doubt.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>If you've missed the whole Facebook Beacon dustup, here's <a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/2007/11/close-encounter.html">a quick recap</a> of what went wrong. Boiled down, it goes like this: the new program Facebook is running shows the details in your news stream of your purchases with any of the 22 or so Facebook partners who are part of the Beacon program (Overstock.com, Fandango, Zappos, etc.), so your Facebook network knows what you've been doing. Kind of <a href="http://blogstring.com/2007/11/28/the-beacon-clever-or-creepy/">creepy</a>, right? Well, the public first reacted with modest doubt, then became vehement over what can only be described as a huge lapse in judgment by Facebook. At first, Facebook gave only passing mention that your details would be shown, then the gradually released more information - but the problem was, there was no way to opt out (or in, for that matter). To their credit, Facebook has listened. The New York Times did a great job illustrating the <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/the-evolution-of-facebooks-beacon/">Evolution of Facebook's Beacon</a>. Visually, the evolution looks like this: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuNtET-nI/AAAAAAAAAjY/6YluTCvx6z8/s1600-R/Facebook1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138657987800595058" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuNtET-nI/AAAAAAAAAjY/dKW1Qo04Ohk/s400/Facebook1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuN9ET-oI/AAAAAAAAAjg/d9kKVV8qQpw/s1600-R/Facebook2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138657992095562370" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuN9ET-oI/AAAAAAAAAjg/PtE5tJMVEJA/s400/Facebook2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuN9ET-pI/AAAAAAAAAjo/P80DF0NMP5A/s1600-R/Facebook3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138657992095562386" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuN9ET-pI/AAAAAAAAAjo/2LNGuXxF4Ew/s400/Facebook3.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuONET-qI/AAAAAAAAAjw/9iZ5b6gZB5E/s1600-R/Facebook4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138657996390529698" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R1AuONET-qI/AAAAAAAAAjw/RVOaM-fpLQo/s400/Facebook4.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>The latest update is that the two-day deadline on replying is gone. Now, if you don't respond, you're assumed to have opted out. But this is not a blanket opt-out, just an opt out on a particular transaction. Update: Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/beacon/faq.php">has changed the requirements</a> so that you can opt in or out of each partner program. Hat-tip to <a href="http://web-strategist.com/blog/">Jeremiah</a> for that one. Is this enough? Has Facebook saved itself with this evolution, or do they need to go further? I'd argue that they at least need to do a little more research or bring someone on board who understands the user experience when designing notifications. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Facebook's Beacon Gets a Little Brighter

Modest doubt is call’d The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches To the bottom of the worst. - William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressid...

Act Now! Last Chance!

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RpuQCd7b4CI/AAAAAAAAAY8/VI0nwaLtIqE/s200/AOC_lulu.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RpuQCd7b4CI/AAAAAAAAAY8/VI0nwaLtIqE/s200/AOC_lulu.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" /></a>One week. That's all you've got to buy <a href="http://www.ageofconversation.com/">The Age of Conversation</a> at its original price. As of December 1, the book will no longer be available on <a href="http://lulu.com/ageofconversation">Lulu</a> in hardcover, paperback and e-book formats. Instead, Drew & Gavin are moving it to Amazon in an effort to broaden the reach. But with broader reach comes a higher price ($30), as we still need to meet our obligation to the charity we're supporting and also give a cut to Amazon. If you haven't gotten a copy or two yet, please <a href="http://lulu.com/ageofconversation">click on this link</a> to buy yourself or a colleague a copy of the softcover at $16.95 before next Friday. If you would like to place bulk orders, please get in touch with me privately. And while you're at it, you might want to check out the blogs of my fellow co-authors, to get a sense as to their collective insights and perspective on all things conversational. <a href="http://servantofchaos.typepad.com/">Gavin Heaton</a>, <a href="http://drewsmarketingminute.com/">Drew McLellan</a>, <a href="http://www.ck-blog.com/cks_blog/">CK</a>, <a href="http://www.conversationagent.com/">Valeria Maltoni</a>, <a href="http://www.conformistsunite.com/">Emily Reed</a>, <a href="http://katiechatfield.wordpress.com/">Katie Chatfield</a>, <a href="http://gregverdino.typepad.com/greg_verdinos_blog">Greg Verdino</a>, <a href="http://www.theviralgarden.com/">Lewis Green</a>, Sacrum, <a href="http://www.mpdailyfix.com/">Ann Handley</a>, <a href="http://www.converstations.com/">Mike Sansone</a>, <a href="http://heehawmarketing.typepad.com/hee_haw_marketing/">Paul McEnany</a>, <a href="http://blog.creativethink.com/">Roger von Oech</a>, <a href="http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com/the_engaging_brand_/">Anna Farmery</a>, <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/">David Armano</a>, <a href="http://onereaderatatime.blogspot.com/">Bob Glaza</a>, <a href="http://transmissionmarketing.ca/">Mark Goren</a>, <a href="http://technomarketer.typepad.com/">Matt Dickman</a>, <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/">Scott Monty</a>, <a href="http://www.adliterate.com/">Richard Huntington</a>, <a href="http://www.chaosscenario.com/main/">Cam Beck</a>, <a href="http://www.reichcomm.typepad.com/">David Reich</a>, <a href="http://mindblob.typepad.com/">Luc Debaisieux</a>, <a href="http://www.craphammer.ca/">Sean Howard</a>, <a href="http://masiguy.blogspot.com/">Tim Jackson</a>, <a href="http://www.lonelymarketer.com/">Patrick Schaber</a>, <a href="http://www.copywritingmaven.com/the_copywriting_maven/">Roberta Rosenberg</a>, <a href="http://uwehook.blogspot.com/">Uwe Hook</a>, <a href="http://successfromthenest.com/">Tony D. Clark</a>, <a href="http://toddand.com/">Todd Andrlik</a>, <a href="http://www.divamarketingblog.com/">Toby Bloomberg</a>, <a href="http://www.stickyfigure.com/">Steve Woodruff</a>, <a href="http://www.sbannister.com/">Steve Bannister</a>, <a href="http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/">Steve Roesler</a>, <a href="http://branddna.blogspot.com/">Stanley Johnson</a>, <a href="http://www.brainsonfire.com/blog">Spike Jones</a>, <a href="http://giddlebits.wordpress.com/">Nathan Snell</a>, <a href="http://simonpayn.typepad.com/">Simon Payn</a>, <a href="http://rrasmussen.tumblr.com/">Ryan Rasmussen</a>, <a href="http://marketingroi.wordpress.com/">Ron Shevlin</a>, <a href="http://www.modernmagellans.com/">Roger Anderson</a>, <a href="http://middlezonemusings.com/">Robert Hruzek</a>, <a href="http://gumpdesign.blogspot.com/">Rishi Desai</a>, <a href="http://makeitgreat.typepad.com/makeitgreat/">Phil Gerbyshak</a>, <a href="http://www.advercation.com/">Peter Corbett</a>, <a href="http://www.thebuddygroup.com/">Pete Deutschman</a>, <a href="http://www.nick-rice.com/">Nick Rice</a>, <a href="http://virtualmarketingandmedia.blogspot.com/">Nick Wright</a>, <a href="http://marketingmonster.wordpress.com/">Michael Morton</a>, <a href="http://herd.typepad.com/">Mark Earls</a>, <a href="http://www.smoblog.com/">Mark Blair</a>, <a href="http://vellandi.wordpress.com/">Mario Vellandi</a>, <a href="http://modadimagno.blogspot.com/">Lori Magno</a>, <a href="http://writenowisgood.typepad.com/write_now_is_good">Kristin Gorski</a>, <a href="http://crossthebreeze.com/">Kris Hoet</a>, <a href="http://annansi.com/blog/">G.</a><a href="http://annansi.com/blog/">Kofi Annan</a>, <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/kimberlydawnwells">Kimberly Dawn Wells</a>, <a href="http://experiencecurve.com/">Karl Long</a>, <a href="http://www.thedozenblog.com/">Julie Fleischer</a>, <a href="http://www.telltenfriends.com/blog/">Jordan Behan</a>, <a href="http://www.mil-media.com/">John La Grou</a>, <a href="http://www.happyburroblog.com/">Joe Raasch</a>, <a href="http://www.jimkukral.com/">Jim Kukral</a>, <a href="http://indexed.blogspot.com/">Jessica Hagy</a>, <a href="http://www.marketingideablog.com/">Janet Green</a>, <a href="http://www.jameyshiels.com/">Jamey Shiel</a>, <a href="http://www.jameyshiels.com/">s</a>, <a href="http://www.customerthink.com/gurublog/graham_hill">Dr. Graham Hill</a>, <a href="http://www.bizandbuzz.blogspot.com/">Gia Facchini</a>, <a href="http://brandopia.wordpress.com/">Geert Desager</a>, <a href="http://gauravonomics.com/">Gaurav Mishra</a>, <a href="http://www.garyschoeniger.com/">Gary Schoeniger</a>, <a href="http://www.garethkay.com/">Gareth Kay</a>, <a href="http://farisyakob.typepad.com/">Faris Yakob</a>, <a href="http://libraryrevolution.com/">Emily Clasper</a>, <a href="http://www.influxinsights.com/">Ed Cotton</a>, <a href="http://shakegently.com/">Dustin Jacobsen</a>, <a href="http://www.directortom.com/">Tom Clifford</a>, <a href="http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org/">David Polinchock</a>, <a href="http://www.mokummarketing.com/blog/">David Koopmans</a>, <a href="http://www.journamarketing.com/">David Brazeal</a>, <a href="http://www.marketersstudio.com/">David Berkowitz</a>, <a href="http://thoughtsphilosophies.com/">Carolyn Manning</a>, <a href="http://mediahunter.typepad.com/">Craig Wilson</a>, <a href="http://www.marketinghipster.com/">Cord Silverstein</a>, <a href="http://www.everydotconnects.com/">Connie Reece</a>, <a href="http://canuckflack.com/">Colin McKay</a>, <a href="http://lighthousecommunications.typepad.com/talkingpoint/">Chris Newlan</a>, <a href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot">Chris Corrigan</a>, <a href="http://www.cedricgiorgi.com/">Cedric Giorgi</a>, <a href="http://www.thinkingaboutmedia.com/">Brian Reich</a>, <a href="http://customersrock.wordpress.com/">Becky Carroll</a>, <a href="http://arunrajagopal.com/">Arun Rajagopal</a>, <a href="http://www.andynulman.com/">Amy Jussel</a>, AJ James, <a href="http://kimklaverblogs.blogspot.com/">Kim Klaver</a>, <a href="http://www.purplewren.com/">Sandy Renshaw</a>, <a href="http://wf360.com/about-blog.htm">Susan Bird</a>, <a href="http://ryanbarrett.typepad.com/" title="_blank">Ryan Barrett</a>, <a href="http://www.troyworman.com/wordpress/">Troy Worman</a>, <a href="http://vinebergcommunications.com/">S. Neil Vineberg</a>, <a href="http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/" title="_blank">C.B. Whittemore</a>, <a href="http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com/" title="_blank">Mack Collier</a>, <a href="http://powrightbetweentheeyes.typepad.com/" title="_blank">Andy Nulman</a><a href="http://powrightbetweentheeyes.typepad.com/" title="_blank"> </a>

Act Now! Last Chance!

One week. That's all you've got to buy The Age of Conversation at its original price. As of December 1, the book will no longer be ...

Which Table Did You Sit At Yesterday?

The adult table? The dreaded kids table? Or perhaps the newly-minted Social Media table...

Let Us Count Our Blessings

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000003FHI?tag=thebakerstree-20&camp=15041&creative=373501&link_code=as3" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135950156949355042" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R0aPdNET-iI/AAAAAAAAAiY/aK1pNNwJ9DA/s200/copland.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>The other night, I was listening to a simple, yet moving piece: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000003FHI?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000003FHI">Aaron Copland's suite</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000003FHI?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000003FHI"> from </a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000003FHI?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B000003FHI" style="font-style: italic;">Our Town</a>. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032881/">The 1940 movie</a> brought to life Thornton Wilder's classic play, which highlighted the importance of appreciating the little things in life and demonstrated that even a small town isn't completely immune from the influence of the rest of the world. 
 
"It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another." 
The quote is from "Our Town," but it can apply to social media (or life) just the same. With so much happening, we should remember to take stock of who we are, where we came from, and who helps us be the people we are in our respective communities. And to recognize that our communities are far-reaching - well beyond our geographic location. 
 
It's entirely appropriate then, that a meme is circulating with an underlying theme of giving thanks to those in our past and present. In particular this latest meme is "Who had a big influence on you and how did that affect the direction of your life or career?" and it was begun by <a href="http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/2007/11/making-it-relevant-career-advice-from.html">Kami Huyse</a> and <a href="http://lagesse.org/">Rob Lagasse</a>. I've been tagged by <a href="http://www.engageinpr.com/2007/11/21/giving-thanks-and-a-piece-of-social-media-pie/">Kyle Flaherty</a>, who paid me a very fine compliment in his post. [Aside: thank you for that, Kyle. I hope I continue to live up to your expectations.] 
 
Andy Ferrara was my biggest influence, only I didn't know it at the time. It's only as my career has blossomed that I've had the opportunity to reflect on Andy's advice and example. 
 My first consulting gig was doing corporate development on a 3-person team for <a href="http://www.bostonhealthcare.com/">Boston Healthcare Associates</a>. I was still young and a bit unsure of myself, as I had never done that kind of work before and was responsible for the strategic and financial well-being of my clients. Andy had an open-door policy and even when he was extremely busy, he always took a few moments to welcome me into his office and make me feel as if I was the most important thing on his agenda. I was talking with him about some doubts I was having, and he said something that sticks with me still: 
<blockquote>
"Just tell yourself 'I have arrived.'"</blockquote>
 That's it. Plain and simple. It's the premise behind <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=the%20secret&tag=thebakerstree-20&index=blended&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">The Secret</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" />. But it takes a bit of self-confidence before you can really embrace it. And until this year, I didn't really appreciate that. The other thing that Andy taught me was the importance of listening. One of the main tenets of joining a social network or community is that <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/08/want-free-marketing-secret-listen-up.html">you must listen first</a>. Andy would sit in a conference room with clients or employees and would let everyone speak. He only offered his opinion at the end of the meeting, and it always seemed that his comments were the most insightful and comprehensive. He didn't open his mouth just to hear himself speak, he really had a reason for speaking. In the spirit of keeping the meme alive, I'm going to tag a few folks - people that I'm thankful for this year. I've many, many people in mind, but I do want to keep this succinct. I'll be sharing another post shortly about my recent experiences meeting so many wonderful social media mavens in the Boston area. <a href="http://clipper.typepad.com/">Julia Roy</a> - no, I'm not tagging Julia because she's been after me to put her on my blogroll, but rather because she is one of the shining examples of someone who combines passion, intelligence and humor to great effect. Her personal brand is sassy yet serious, playful yet intelligent, and always engaging. She uses <a href="http://www.seesmic.com/Seesmic.html#/video/egaz4eLs6f/watch">Seesmic</a> to her advantage and has <a href="http://twitter.com/juliaroy/statuses/419974812">great boots</a>. I'm very sad that Boston is losing her to New York, but thanks to new media, we'll still be able to benefit from her uber-presence. <a href="http://www.lenedgerly.com/">Len Edgerly</a> - Len is one of my surprise friends this year. He's half Denver, half Cambridge and entirely cool. I think we became acquainted over Twitter and we found a common interest in the arts, particularly in <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/">literature</a>. In his <a href="http://lenchronicles.blogspot.com/">Video Pod Chronicles</a> episode with NewMediaJim, I recognized the Colony Hotel in the background and mentioned it. What has resulted is a kind of mutual admiration society and a new friendship that I hope to nourish. <a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/">Joseph Jaffe</a> - How could I not mention the Interruptor? No, not <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/06/view-from-inside-crayon-box.html">this one</a>. I'm talking about the founder of the company I work for, <a href="http://www.crayonville.com/">crayon</a>. Just a year ago I was only a fan of crayon, but earlier this year, Joseph enthusiastically welcomed me to the team (what were you thinking, Joe?). My time with crayon has been exhilarating and exhausting, but incredibly rewarding. I really feel like I'm part of something big, and I have Joseph to thank for that. <a href="http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/">Drew McLellan</a> - Probably one of the nicest guys in the blogosphere, Drew tapped me as one of the original core group to write <a href="http://www.ageofconversation.com/">The Age of Conversation</a>, a groundbreaking book that took the work of 103 authors and resulting in over $10,000 raised for charity. Drew's insights into marketing and branding are always eye-opening for me, and his approachability and encouragement always make me smile. Thank you all, for being a unique and special part of my social media world. You make it a more interesting place and you inspire many others in your own way. I hope you continue the meme and share your thanks with your own communities.

Let Us Count Our Blessings

The other night, I was listening to a simple, yet moving piece: Aaron Copland's suite from Our Town . The 1940 movie brought to life T...

How to Teach Marketers to Be Authentic

Did you ever take the time to step back and wonder about the various personas you meet online? They could be long-lost friends, bloggers that you admire, or people in your Facebook network whom you may have never met before. But what do you really know about them? How many of these folks are truly themselves when they're online? I mean, how many are perhaps bolder in their assertions or less cautious with the language they use because of the less personal nature of the medium? We spend a lot of time talking about authenticity as one of the tenets of social media - how businesses, brands and the people behind them need to be seen as real. There's no doubt that the masses will sniff out a fraud. But how do we guarantee them authenticity? While you ponder that, take a look at Brad Paisley's take on it: <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-1c0a3bdee97d824e-11138" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyxZzMMN5ZOmv88cKA4J3T5kec8bJdO6HOQX2Hn6PQKJHZ0zaVAO1RdeDEM7ILsLnm-0leyi77Njz0Xy2DfABhURkReKXBl_IRFg7aSoi-T7rMLxV5siAXkzbP0mE9xbOaEHX9R" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe> </div> As recently as this week, someone in my <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/wsmonty">LinkedIn</a> network posed the following question: <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/public-relations/MAR_PRR/124434-3195046">What disciplines should marketers be training within to ensure authenticity?</a> My first thought, was, "You've got to be kidding, right? You want to teach authenticity?" It reminded me of the old George Burns quote: <blockquote>"Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made."</blockquote>That one-liner often sums up all that is seen as wrong with and disliked about advertising, marketing and public relations - mouthing the words without actually believing what you're saying. Can you blame the public for distrusting advertisers or for thinking of public relations professionals as "spin doctors"? Many of the other respondents to the LinkedIn question also noted that authenticity is more of a state of being rather than a skill - it's something that has to be imbued throughout one's life rather than taught as a course. Authenticity represents who we are, not what we do. And when we use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_speak">marketing speak</a> to address our audience, are we being truly authentic, or simply following a corporate protocol out of some antiquated tradition? I say it's time to step out of those corporate roles and leave behind those traditional templates and speak to our customers as if we're real people talking to other real people. As David Ogilvy once famously said, <blockquote>"The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife." </blockquote>How do you learn how to be authentic with your wife? You don't learn it; you simply be yourself - that's why she picked you, right? Ultimately, it's worth asking how do your customers or your community view you? I hope you're prepared for the answer, because we live in an age where they'll tell you and expect to be heard.

How to Teach Marketers to Be Authentic

Did you ever take the time to step back and wonder about the various personas you meet online? They could be long-lost friends, bloggers tha...

Social Media Takeaways #4

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--f5RTC6kjQI/Uug876iP9cI/AAAAAAAAP8o/ZeBXNOWU7LM/s1600/Takeaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--f5RTC6kjQI/Uug876iP9cI/AAAAAAAAP8o/ZeBXNOWU7LM/s1600/Takeaway.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
This has been another busy week. What's new, right? Well this time, it's been courtesy of some seriously social social media, both in terms of getting out of the house / office and truly connecting with others. 
 
The more time I spend in this field, the more powerful I realize the effect of communities. You just can't underestimate them - nor can you manufacture them. If a client came to me with a request to build a community, my counsel would be that it's not a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/quotes">Field of Dreams</a> scenario. Communities take time, attention and true dedication. 
 
<a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/01/putting-social-in-social-media.html">Before B2B, Before B2C, There was F2F</a> 
There were big doings over the weekend with <a href="http://www.podcampboston.org/">PodCamp Boston 2</a>. It was my first time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - meeting old friends, connecting with people with whom I had only known online previously, and meeting a whole raft of new and smart people - too many to list in this post, but people I'll be following. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: Hitting the blogs on a daily basis, commenting and otherwise propping up the echo chamber is good, but when's the last time you stepped out to meet some of your community face to face? You just can't beat it. But don't <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/01/putting-social-in-social-media.html">take my word for it</a> - see <a href="http://blip.tv/file/459272">how Mark Blevis sees the world</a>.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/10/30/details-revealed-google-opensocial-to-be-common-apis-for-building-social-apps/"> 
The Announcement We've All Been Waiting For</a> 
Google finally released what it's doing with regard to social networking: an initiative called <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/">Open Social</a>. It's a collaborative effort among some of the most well-known socnets, including Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle. This is meant to thrust Google into direct competition with the likes of MySpace and Facebook. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: As I understand it, this is huge, as it gives you a single place to create profiles and leave updates - kind of a master control center for your social networking efforts. Breaking down the walled garden approach of Facebook is going to get a lot of people interested - especially from the business side, since Salesforce & Oracle are involved. Stay tuned.</li>
</ul>
 
What Were You for Halloween? 
When the kids go out trick-or-treating and you're left to guard the castle from the marauders, it can be pretty lonely. Just waiting for the multiple doorbell rings (or sounds of eggs splattering). This year, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/scottmonty">Twitter</a> connected me with a whole network of other guys in the same situation. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: Twitter is really amazing when you know how to use it. I felt like I was sitting around the room chatting with friends. Great updates from <a href="http://twitter.com/DougH/statuses/378984652">@DougH</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/cc_chapman/statuses/378927882">@cc_chapman</a>, to name a couple. And <a href="http://twitter.com/DougH/statuses/379155652">one final one</a> that just cracked me up.</li>
</ul>
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Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15527714@N07/11657398026/in/photolist-iL8di9-iL65Cb-iL5zSz-iL8ew1-iL4e8c-bsEo87-bFzgUx-8hvDYs-8o2fYc-8mTFNu-dbqUpS-96PoSm-8w9j8j-bxJnMH-99zQRk-8jZWPu-7JtH1b-d7j1v1-hK3knk-hK2fWF-hK3kt2-9qar23-dVh4Lt-bvgJwn-bi8VGn-bh9JYn-9Ja3Uk-7ZdWQT-c6jgNy-8Hhe29-c6jgwY-8RFfyv-7KgCWV-7KkyXY-8He6rX-9UndFJ-hRKHSf-9QiBz9-8Kb51w-apTCYY-b5GpiB-7Ri7HQ-9n5Ce1-bVVQbm-98BVde-91o1u5-7KFL9k-a8syt1-bof94C-8pt6ap-bBa29T#" target="_blank">sonicimac (Flickr)</a></div>
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Social Media Takeaways #4

This has been another busy week. What's new, right? Well this time, it's been courtesy of some seriously social social media, bot...

Verizon Gets It; Others May Too

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RyrBObKsL2I/AAAAAAAAAhI/vYOUsa5M-6U/s1600-h/2pointhome_logo.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128123579269656418" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RyrBObKsL2I/AAAAAAAAAhI/vYOUsa5M-6U/s200/2pointhome_logo.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>Recently, Verizon launched a promotion in Pennsylvania where they're giving five families a chance to win a FiOS home makeover. And before you mention it, no not those <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Families">Five Families</a>; I know I'm the Consiglieri at crayon, but Verizon has a reputation to keep. This is all part of a show called <a href="http://2pointhome.com/">My Home 2.0</a> and it's part of Verizon's effort to give families' homes an amazing technology update, including Verizon's FiOS service. What an amazing opportunity! All you have to do if you live in the area is submit an audition video on the My Home 2.0 site. My friends and former colleagues C.C. Chapman and Steve Coulson of <a href="http://www.theadvanceguard.com">The Advance Guard</a> are in charge of this campaign and you can tell it's got their creativity behind it. The <a href="http://www.2pointhome.com/press/smpr/">social media news release</a> page is nicely done, plus there are all sorts of social media sites attached to it. My favorite has to be the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5453785953">Facebook group</a>, as it centralizes the experiences, photos and videos. Ugh. What I wouldn't give for FiOS TV and Internet service. But my area isn't even wired yet, and this contest is only for the Pittsburgh & Philadelphia areas. Best of luck to all who audition!

Verizon Gets It; Others May Too

Recently, Verizon launched a promotion in Pennsylvania where they're giving five families a chance to win a FiOS home makeover. And befo...

Utterz = Twitter All Over Again

<div class="utterz-entry"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="35" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.utterz.com/fp/slimline.swf?20" /><param name="flashvars" value="utt_id=NDk2MzIzNg&autoplay=0&wu=NDk1MzA4NQ" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed src="http://www.utterz.com/fp/slimline.swf?20" wmode="transparent" flashvars="utt_id=NDk2MzIzNg&autoplay=0&wu=NDk1MzA4NQ" width="320" height="35" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" /></object> <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzIzNg/utt.php">Mobile post</a> sent by <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~h-scottmonty/list.php">scottmonty</a> using <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com">Utterz</a>. <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzIzNg/utt.php"><img border="0" src="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzIzNg/reply_count.php" style="vertical-align: middle; border: none; padding: 0px;"></a> <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzIzNg/utt.php">Replies</a>.</div>

Utterz = Twitter All Over Again

Mobile post sent by scottmonty using Utterz . Replies .

Social Media & the World Series

<div class="utterz-entry"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="35" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.utterz.com/fp/slimline.swf?20" /><param name="flashvars" value="utt_id=NDk2MzE4OA&autoplay=0&wu=NDk1MzA4NQ" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed src="http://www.utterz.com/fp/slimline.swf?20" wmode="transparent" flashvars="utt_id=NDk2MzE4OA&autoplay=0&wu=NDk1MzA4NQ" width="320" height="35" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" /></object> <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzE4OA/utt.php">Mobile post</a> sent by <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~h-scottmonty/list.php">scottmonty</a> using <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com">Utterz</a>. <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzE4OA/utt.php"><img border="0" src="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzE4OA/reply_count.php" style="vertical-align: middle; border: none; padding: 0px;"></a> <a target="_new" href="http://www.utterz.com/~u-NDk2MzE4OA/utt.php">Replies</a>.</div>

Social Media & the World Series

Mobile post sent by scottmonty using Utterz . Replies .

My PodCamp Boston 2 Presentation

This morning, I had the opportunity to give a presentation at PodCamp Boston 2. It was a full house, despite being the first session of the morning on a foggy, damp and grey morning in Boston. 
 
Thank you to everyone who attended, asked questions - and most importantly, contributed to the conversation. I admitted that I clearly don't know everything about this field and that I rely on my communities to fill in my knowledge gaps. That's the beauty of the social media space. 
 
My talk, <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/scottmonty/web-20-tools-you-can-use/">Web 2.0 Tools You Can Use</a>, focused on four web apps that can help you be more productive and get your life in order. I recommended four basic tools - certainly not a comprehensive list, but a basic set of productivity-enhancing apps that can help you keep sane amidst the clutter. 
 
And the Web is cluttered. Some basic facts: 
<ul>
<li>Facebook gets over 54 billion page views a month</li>
<li>Facebook accounts for 1% of all Web traffic</li>
<li>25% of people's free time is spent online</li>
<li>Technorati tracks 70 million blogs</li>
<li>Not to mention that every day, I have to check email, Twitter, Skype, and a boatload of RSS feeds</li>
</ul>
The question is, how productive can you possibly be amidst all of this? There has to be a way. 
 
<center>
<div id="__ss_147494" style="text-align: left; width: 425px;">
<object height="355" style="margin: 0px;" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://s3.amazonaws.com/slideshare/ssplayer2.swf?doc=web-20-tools-you-can-use-1193510354170822-5"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/slideshare/ssplayer2.swf?doc=web-20-tools-you-can-use-1193510354170822-5" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></embed></object> 
<div style="font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 11px; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;">
<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/?src=embed"><img alt="SlideShare" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/slideshare/logo_embd.png" style="border: 0px none; margin-bottom: -5px;" /></a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/scottmonty/web-20-tools-you-can-use" title="View 'Web 2.0 Tools You Can Use' on SlideShare">View</a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload">Upload your own</a></div>
</div>
</center>
 
My suggestions: 
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.jott.com/">Jott</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.trailfire.com/">Trailfire</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.grandcentral.com/">GrandCentral</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doodle.ch/">Doodle</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/">Remember the Milk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.inviteshare.com/">InviteShare</a></li>
</ul>
And crayon's latest client, the groundbreaking video chat client, <a href="http://www.oovoo.com/">ooVoo</a> - which you can see at the end of the deck, embedded above and hosted on <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/scottmonty/web-20-tools-you-can-use/">SlideShare</a>. 
 
And then I opened it up to the audience. Some of their suggestions included: 
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.8apps.com/">8 Apps</a></li>
<li>Google: <a href="http://www.google.com/alerts">Alerts</a>, <a href="http://analytics.google.com/">Analytics</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/trends">Trends</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mybloglog.com/">My BlogLog</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.sitemeter.com/">SiteMeter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.radian6.com/">Radian6</a></li>
<li><a href="http://statcounter.com/">StatCounter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://del.icio.us/">del.icio.us</a></li>
</ul>
If you'd like a comprehensive list of the tools that I track, you can see it at: <a href="http://del.icio.us/socialmediamarketing/tools">http://del.icio.us/socialmediamarketing/tools</a> 
 
Special thanks to <a href="http://www.markblevis.com/">Mark Blevis</a> for taking notes during the session and forwarding on the audience suggestions.

My PodCamp Boston 2 Presentation

This morning, I had the opportunity to give a presentation at PodCamp Boston 2. It was a full house, despite being the first session of the ...

Unkommonly Good

Last week, my post <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/10/new-media-douchebag-are-you-one.html">New Media Douchebag: Are You One?</a> was a surprise hit. I'd like to think it's thanks to my wise choice of a headline, but I think everyone would agree that it was the entertaining nature of the video itself. 
 
Well, not one to rest on my laurels, I've got another entry in the series. Before I queue it up though, I'd like to acknowledge <a href="http://www.kommonkraft.com/blog/">Kommon Kraft</a>, the creators of these amazingly funny and too-close-to-the-truth videos. 
 
This series is a send-up of Lee LeFever's very successful <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/">Common Craft</a> videos - particularly the "Plain English" series. But Kommon Kraft - with a logo suspiciously similar to <a href="http://krispykreme.com/">Krispy Kreme</a> (mmm....hot donuts now...) - is a creation of <a href="http://kellystewart.com/">Kelly Stewart</a>, who clearly is a very talented individual. 
 
In this case, KK has hijacked the conversation and skewers my crayon colleague Joseph Jaffe (among others) in another hilarious video. 
 
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-64e9b8b031e84c76-10996" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dygjmM8qaudBS5k6ZBugOXATm6wHxjOcZw4wNgEhfajrjf7U1ZPqW4V8AHMPLdO0knN0n_kdiu7FvnwAensp3FQ9KwHPiytj6lv6944tT4_tJJIXOsiKbDOG_Fc-7WCu8gOiUBB" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe> 
 
<div style="text-align: left;">
I wonder who the next (un)suspecting victim will be. Got any suggestions? I'm sure Kelly is listening. 
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Unkommonly Good

Last week, my post New Media Douchebag: Are You One? was a surprise hit. I'd like to think it's thanks to my wise choice of a headl...

Social Media Takeaways #3

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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EMV0h9XnKok/UuhUtwrjGHI/AAAAAAAAP9M/_qVQd130PR8/s1600/Chinese+takeaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EMV0h9XnKok/UuhUtwrjGHI/AAAAAAAAP9M/_qVQd130PR8/s1600/Chinese+takeaway.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
This is a busy week - coming off of the great Boston Web Community dinner, courtesy of EMC, where I got to see some of my favorite new media folks (<a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/">Jeremiah Owyang</a>, <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.net/">Chris Brogan</a>, <a href="http://www.pistachioconsulting.com/">Laura Fitton</a>, <a href="http://www.roninmarketeer.com/">John Wall</a>, <a href="http://www.blogstring.com/">Sarah Wurrey</a>, <a href="http://www.stevegarfield.com/">Steve Garfield</a>, <a href="http://personalbrandingblog.wordpress.com/">Dan Schawbel</a>, <a href="http://www.beingpeterkim.com/">Peter Kim</a>, <a href="http://socialmediaguy.com/">Yianni Garcia</a>, <a href="http://www.clipper.typepad.com/">Julia Roy</a>) and meet new ones (<a href="http://www.diecastaudio.com/">Jeff Glasson</a>, <a href="http://www.perkettprsuasion.com/">Christine Perkett</a>, <a href="http://socialhoneycomb.com/">Amanda Gravel</a>). In addition, I'm gearing up for <a href="http://www.podcampboston.org/">PodCamp Boston 2</a>, where I'll be speaking. 
 
But that doesn't mean there wasn't still a bit of time for a few Social Media Takeaways: 
 
<a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2007/10/my-apple-is-a-l.html" style="font-weight: bold;">My Apple Is a Lemon</a> 
No, this isn't David Armano's way of trying to score some free bling for his blog (like <a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/2007/09/the-iphone-spon.html">some other people</a> we know). It turns out this is David's 2nd Macbook Pro that's given him inexplicable trouble, so he decided to write about it. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: Uh-oh. Apple should be concerned. First they fired 800 employees for taking a $100 voucher on their free iPhones, now they've got a prominent blogger who's pissed off. I hope they're listening. But I like what <a href="http://technomarketer.typepad.com/">Matt Dickman</a> had to say <a href="http://twitter.com/MattDickman/statuses/358178432">on twitter</a>: @Armano: I bet Dell responds before Apple does ;-)</li>
</ul>
Quick, Fire That Customer 
It's not a good week to be a customer. <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/10/the-need-to-be-.html">Seth Godin</a> and <a href="http://senithomas.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/is-the-customer-always-right/">the Ad-Vocate</a> both opine that the customer is not always right and call for certain customers to be fired. I like Seth's rejoinder to the phrase "the customer's always right": when they're wrong, they're not your customer any more. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: Listen up. Get to know your customers well, through whatever space they inhabit. Find out what they're saying about you and <a href="http://www.jointheconversation.us/">join the conversation</a> if you can. But realize when you'll never convert them and know when to let go.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119323518308669856.html" style="font-weight: bold;"> 
Fa¢ebook</a> 
At this point, Facebook is steering clear of Google and instead opting for the cold hard cash from our friends at Micro$oft - a cool $278 million, to be exact. This amount, a 1.6% stake in Facebook, entitles the software behemoth to be the exclusive U.S. and international advertiser with the social network through 2011. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: A $15 billion valuation for Facebook? What-ever. If the ad revenue can continue to stream in - and with Facebook's ability to target different demographics, it's an attractive site for advertisers - then perhaps it's not totaly off-base. But with today's fickle youth, I wonder if Facebook isn't going to be old school before 2008 is out. The only hope is continuing to get the <a href="http://www.tbo.com/news/money/MGBBTO5XD7F.html">more mature generations</a> involved. And I wouldn't rule out additional funding for Facebook from other sources...</li>
</ul>
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<div>
Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/69502324@N00/3558930683/in/photolist-6qus6R-6s7sdt-6KVyfy-6MSUQD-7jvQnb-7qwwKm-7r1qsU-7tu26G-7vovWu-dB9heL-dBmSoM-dBtKKw-dBorZR-b1RqZP-dAFAFK-dfuafd-7RhbjA-apzSwY-7HGg1A-7JaeXa-98iXu5-dwi3Tn-dvjNLS-duwZBF-duTdCS-dyFL7Z-a9Pdos-dNoLTY-dLdanm-8K8sP1-asz9fq-abQarB-e2ixiF-bPbTbc-bPbTba-8ZWLS8-8ZZSvy-8ZWLMP-8ZWLQ4-8K5q6x-8K8sso-8K8swY-dTvw9c-aMaLH8-bc3D9i-99FUHy-7ET37P-7EWUgU-dNkamy-aj3D3V-8iiiX3" target="_blank">erussell1984 (Flickr)</a></div>
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Social Media Takeaways #3

This is a busy week - coming off of the great Boston Web Community dinner, courtesy of EMC, where I got to see some of my favorite new me...

New Media Douchebag: Are You One?

If you haven't seen this video yet, you need to watch it. While it may be a little too close to the truth for some, I had a good laugh. <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-9261bbb715f7548e-17092" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyX8MRnKF706XSsw9-MnywguB3nCW1K2I4uNw5yobJyEHaLaQTvn7ncMCqbuUngaqfdJ28jXQLLlsGYU89xrY_nyLJxbsSGGuP6B2PZpudlw3QKFP5UBt24U0qUcdu-6au2wmAY" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe> <div style="text-align: left;"> I guess the question is: does this really apply to you (or me)? I view my online activities as part research, part education, part self-marketing - all of which lead me to new discoveries, realizations and insights that I can then share with clients. So while the online busy work may seem (and feel) like it's so much fluff, it's what you do with those findings, how you share them and how you impart your unique perspective that makes it time well spent. </div></div>

New Media Douchebag: Are You One?

If you haven't seen this video yet, you need to watch it. While it may be a little too close to the truth for some, I had a good laugh. ...

When a Community Unites, Great Things Are Possible

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470137320/103-1731002-2267851?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0470137320"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122775774142374722" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RxfBbMm7o0I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/2YfHDd74HDI/s200/jtccover2.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>My friend and colleague Joseph Jaffe is getting ready to burn up the charts. His second book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470137320/103-1731002-2267851?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0470137320">Join the Conversation: How to Engage Marketing-Wearing Consumers Through the Power of Community, Dialogue and Partnership</a>, is now available. But keeping in the spirit of the book, Joe is using new marketing to prove new marketing. This Sunday, October 21, he is going to bum rush the charts at Amazon. "Do what to the what?" I hear you asking. He's asking that everyone wait until Sunday to buy the book and then hit that purchase button at once, helping to drive his book up the Amazon rankings. This only works when you purchase one book at a time, so if you're at all inclined to buy multiple copies, please be aware that if you buy 5 books together, it only counts as a single purchase for the rankings. Tip: if you do want more than one copy, bundle each one with another book you plan on purchasing, in order to get Amazon's free shipping. So, please join me in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470137320/103-1731002-2267851?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0470137320">purchasing the book</a> (no, I don't get an <a href="http://www.crayonville.com">employee</a> discount) on Sunday and showing Amazon what the power of community can mean. .

When a Community Unites, Great Things Are Possible

My friend and colleague Joseph Jaffe is getting ready to burn up the charts. His second book, Join the Conversation: How to Engage Marketing...

A Pharma-Sponsored Social Network?

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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Can-6M5fOmM/Uug44FQhsoI/AAAAAAAAP8g/mea7HZKAL1I/s1600/sermo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Can-6M5fOmM/Uug44FQhsoI/AAAAAAAAP8g/mea7HZKAL1I/s1600/sermo.png" width="640" /></a></div>
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute. This is potentially groundbreaking news. 
 
The time may have come for pharma to break into the social media world. News is that <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119239937318658576-email.html">Pfizer is teaming up with Sermo to create a social networking site</a>. 
 
Those of you who know me know that I've got a good deal of health science background - pharma, biotech, medical device and healthcare experience - and that I talk quite a deal about how pharma is missing out by not embracing social media. I recognize the inherent pitfalls; in fact, I've written about the challenges in <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2006/11/social-media-in-highly-regulated.html">using social media in a highly regulated environment</a> and suggested <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/05/empowering-womens-health-with-social.html">an approach for a niche medical device maker</a>, 
 
So the question with <a href="http://pfizer.com/news/pfizer_press_releases.jsp?rssUrl=http://mediaroom.pfizer.com/portal/site/pfizer/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&ndmConfigId=1006533&newsId=20071014005075&newsLang=en">the Pfizer announcement</a> is: how did they figure out a way around the lawyers and regulators and create a social network? 
 
The answer lies in their audience. Recognizing that the direct-to-consumer model is laden with legal statements that require a two-page buy in print and a 60-second spot on television, pharma is now figuring out a way to improve on the model is seemingly invented: the sales call on the physician. They're moving back to their b-to-b roots. 
 
Trying to secure a 2-minute appointment with an already time-crunched physician, only to bark out some data points and leave behind a handful of free pens and samples - that never appealed to me, either as a potential job or as the proper way to interact with a customer. This model doesn't allow for the salesperson to use one of the most valuable tools they have: their ears. And <a href="http://www.sermo.com/">Sermo</a> themselves listened to their community. According to Sermo's CEO, physicians on the site started asking for the industry to communicate with them in a medium more convenient than sending sales people to their offices. 
 
With the Sermo partnership, Pfizer gets access to Sermo's 31,000 licensed physicians and can interact with them directly. While the users in the network remain anonymous, Pfizer doctors who ask and answer questions are identified as being from Pfizer. The upside? The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385721706/103-1731002-2267851?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0385721706">Wisdom of Crowds</a> comes into play and the community calls out a biased post or comes to the defense of a peer. And a large population of physicians gets the same message at the same time. 
 
The one thing I'd be interested in tracking is how this plays out with the lawyers and regulators. Will the FDA demand (and be granted) access to the network? I don't think it's such an unreasonable request. They should probably be added as members who can observe, but not participate in these online discussions. 
 
I applaud Pfizer and Sermo for creating a way to open the door to social media for the pharmaceutical industry. Let's see how this arrangement goes and see who's up next.

A Pharma-Sponsored Social Network?

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute. This is potentially groundbreaking news. The time may have come for pharma to break into the social ...

Social Media Takeaways #2

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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QvmucMhIZkM/UuhVO6G4z7I/AAAAAAAAP9U/a7rrjkbabGY/s1600/Fish+&+Chip+takeaway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QvmucMhIZkM/UuhVO6G4z7I/AAAAAAAAP9U/a7rrjkbabGY/s1600/Fish+&+Chip+takeaway.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
Busy week, this. The great topics started piling up on Monday -maybe it was that the Columbus Day holiday (for some) made a difference in the ability to crank out some top-notch blog posts, or that the news was especially slow. And then some big news from some major companies started pouring in on Tuesday. Santa Maria! We've got a nice lineup of topics this week. 
 
Anyway, I wanted to get these to your attention before all of the newsy-ness wears off of them... 
 
<a href="http://www.bryper.com/2007/10/08/die-resume-die-die-die" style="font-weight: bold;">Die, Resume! Die! Die! Die!</a> 
Bryan Person takes a cue from Tom Foremski's <a href="http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2006/02/die_press_relea.php">shot-heard-round-the-world</a> for the PR industry and suggests that it's time for an end to the traditional resume as we know it. The replacement? Why, a Social Media Resume, of course! 
<ul>
<li>SMT: Great idea. I think it's high time this was instituted. I've always referred headhunters to my LinkedIn page when they ask for my resume, but they insist on the hard copy anyway (come to think of it, even crayon insisted on the old fashioned version).</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=68806&Nid=35072&p=313502" style="font-weight: bold;">Manhattan Sees a Mashup of Soup & Ice Cream</a> 
For fans of Cold Stone Creamery and Soup Kitchen International (aka the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_nazi">Soup Nazi</a>), you don't have to visit more than one store. An aspiring entrepreneur is combining both stores in one and promoting it with a contest that rewards two grand prizes: a cup of soup a day for life and a cup of ice cream a day for life. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: The kicker is that they're not using traditional marketing. They tried "buying local advertising and radio spots, but didn't get much bang for [their] buck." So, the co-branded shop is going entirely with word of mouth marketing. How's that for hot & cold?</li>
</ul>
 
<a href="http://jaiku.com/help/google" style="font-weight: bold;">Google Acquires Jaiku</a> 
Google buys Jaiku for an unspecified amount. A huge surprise, since Twitter seems to have the market share of users. But a brilliant strategic move from Google. And expect more soon - as Robert Scoble says, <a href="http://scobleizer.com/2007/10/09/google-making-big-social-media-moves/">prepare yourself for November 5</a>. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: Rest assured that Google is assuming a take-no-prisoners approach with Facebook and Twitter. I think Google is getting more deeply rooted in the community space - and what's more, this clearly positions them for more mobile applications (can you say <a href="http://mashable.com/2007/10/08/gphone-2/">gPhone</a>?). But will I still be able to stream Twitter through Jaiku?Neville Hobson recommends that we "refuse to choose" - use <a href="http://www.twitku.com/">Twitku</a>.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/corporate-20071009000000-nbcuniversaltoacq.html">NBC Universal Acquires Oxygen Media</a>NBC announced that it was paying $925 million for the female-focused network that streams into 74 million homes in America, padding their portfolio of properties that cater to the fair sex. 
<ul>
<li>SMT: It's an interesting way to assemble more of a focused audience - well, as focused as mass media can be. But I think <a href="http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/blog/">Chris Thilk</a> hit it on the head when <a href="http://twitter.com/CThilk/statuses/323354712">he Twittered</a>:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="font-style: italic;">
Now it has 2 female-targeted properties it can fail to integrate efficiently. Awesome.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Image credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41153475@N04/8067207282/in/photolist-dhSxEJ-cgvCLL-faVYuF-aA3NsM-dDEJy4-fP5Ls2-fdakW2-83UNFP-dhSy7e-dhSxSC-dhSxSK-dQPs1b-bgdaE2-7LS2Sn-7LS3HD-dn5JsS-7z6Bk4-7z6H4K-7Ujpes-abSanH-dPwdQg-8tHWds-ccPJyw-7VK5Cg-bX8Au6-fbconS-ej4oAp-7K2gzN-cvfDyN-aaZ53S-7xyVyh-7xyVdG-e3qM9t-7xyVou-7VhijS-7VhgHA-7VhiP3-7Vhiy9-7Kjrhu-dDECU4-9m3tGU-c6UsaA-efHhAd-ej4k6B-chwHPL-8BA8Lq-959tdH-7EzYAt-8dLctM-bAGNhk-bFhap2" target="_blank">markyharky (Flickr)</a> 
-- 
 </div>

Social Media Takeaways #2

Busy week, this. The great topics started piling up on Monday -maybe it was that the Columbus Day holiday (for some) made a difference in...

Life After Life After the 30-Second Spot

<a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1357/1435846410_9d0cbe3fb4.jpg?v=0" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1357/1435846410_9d0cbe3fb4.jpg?v=0" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 66px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 258px;" /></a>A couple of weeks ago, I was in New York to participate in a press conference for <a href="http://www.firebrand.com/">Firebrand</a>, one of our clients at <a href="http://www.crayonville.com/blog">crayon</a>. 
 
I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about the features of Firebrand, as they've been covered by <a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/2007/09/post.html">Joe</a> and <a href="http://gregverdino.typepad.com/greg_verdinos_blog/2007/09/yall-know-that-.html">Greg</a>, among others. Before I tell you about the event, here's a thumbnail sketch of Firebrand. Essentially, Firebrand offers Web, TV and mobile viewing of top-notch television commercials, but with a twist that sets it apart from other online video properties: they're all-commercials, all the time; and the site allows you to actually participate in contests, giveaways and offers from the very brands that you're watching. 
 
While it may seem counterintuitive that crayon, the company whose founder bemoans the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471718378/103-1731002-2267851?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0471718378">tired old 30-second spot</a>, was involved, there was a method to our madness. You see, in this case, the ads are not interruptions of the feature program: they are the feature program. Commercials as content. And we can support entertainment and engagement. 
 
Now let me tell you a little bit about the event itself. 
 Firebrand planned a press conference for September 25, during Advertising Week - perfect timing, as lots of industry people would be in town and journalists would be in the mood to talk about marketing & advertising. Held at the <a href="http://www.mtr.org/">Paley Center for Media</a> (formerly the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/arts/design/05pale.html">Museum of Television and Radio</a>), it was the perfect spot for debuting a brand that is multimedia in nature. In addition to a nod to the past and present, Firebrand also looked to the future, by virtue of the invitation list. There were probably about 75 people in attendance in the hall - mostly traditional journalists - and I was impressed with the turnout. But here's the interesting part: I was one of a handful of bloggers who were there as well (many more were invited, but unable to attend). When you consider that Firebrand's target audience is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y">Millennials</a>, having the news break on blogs is a natural move. The bloggers - who were treated the same as the traditional press - were given press kits, including glossies and a traditional press release, as well as links to the <a href="http://press.firebrand.com/smpr/">social media news release</a> for the event. The SMNR had links to pages on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/FirebrandTV">YouTube</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/firebrandtv/">Flickr</a> and <a href="http://del.icio.us/FirebrandTV">del.icio.us</a> and even a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5967126396">Facebook group</a>. Based on what I've seen from some <a href="http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2007/09/firebrand-shows.html">prominent</a> <a href="http://experiencecurve.com/archives/firebrand-extremely-ambitious-advertising-as-content-destination">bloggers</a>, the SMNR was widely used, as video links and quotes continue to pop up everywhere. And the Facebook group has already garnered over 500 members. All this, and the site doesn't even go live until October 22! Not bad. Stay tuned for the beta release...

Life After Life After the 30-Second Spot

A couple of weeks ago, I was in New York to participate in a press conference for Firebrand , one of our clients at crayon . I'm not g...

New Feature: Social Media Takeaways

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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lAxx7GmPovw/Uugv5h3GT6I/AAAAAAAAP8I/0BgaZLlZW1c/s1600/newsmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lAxx7GmPovw/Uugv5h3GT6I/AAAAAAAAP8I/0BgaZLlZW1c/s1600/newsmap.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
I get a lot of industry news in my RSS reader and my inbox. You probably do, too. Typically I parse through it with a eye for what would be interesting to share with you here. 
 
Lately, there have been some great examples of <a href="http://www.bryper.com/category/social-media-top-10/">Top 10</a> or <a href="http://gischeleman.com/2007/09/10/social-media-top-five-half-the-items-twice-the-quality/">Top 5</a> lists of what's going on in social media, which I'm enjoying following. 
 
But rather than acting as an aggregator, my goal in posting newsy tidbits is to give you a bit of commentary and perspective on each item as it relates to social media, marketing, PR and advertising. I call them Social Media Takeaways (SMT). I hope you'll find it helpful. 
 
<a href="http://blogs.mediapost.com/online_minute/?p=1578" style="font-weight: bold;">Online Advertising Up 27%</a> 
According the IAB and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, $10 billion was spent in the first 6 months of the year. Making up 41% of this was search, which is an increase over last year (via <a href="http://blogs.mediapost.com/online_minute/">Just an Online Minute</a>) 
<ul>
<li>SMT: With search becoming increasingly important, now's the time to consider how a corporate blog might fit into your search strategy. With timely and relevant posts, your content is indexed and searched so that additional traffic can be brought to your company's site. Blogging is a natural for SEO.</li>
</ul>
 
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8RinPzEzIPQ" style="font-weight: bold;">The MySpace Crowd Migrates to Facebook</a>ComScore notes that Facebook attracted 69.3 million users in August, 33% more than in June. Visitors to MySpace declined 7.4% to 105.7 million. There are a number of reasons for the defection to Facebook, including more privacy, more functionality, less spam (you get bacn instead) and a cleaner look (via <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/">Bloomberg</a>) 
<ul>
<li>SMT: While there is a huge influx in Facebook traffic and we're seeing a boom in the resulting business uses of Facebook, don't count MySpace out yet. Steve Ballmer may think <a href="http://gigaom.com/2007/10/02/ballmer-thinks-facebook-at-risk-for-being-a-fad-we-think-not/">Facebook is just a fad</a>, but you need to assess your marketing goals against where your audience is. And if they like sharing music on MySpace, then MySpace is still relevant for them. The bottom line is you should be aware of trends, demographics and new developments to make the most of them.</li>
</ul>
 
And that's all for this installment of Social Media Takeaways. What do you think of this new feature? Should I continue it? Do you have any news or insights that you can share from the past week?

New Feature: Social Media Takeaways

I get a lot of industry news in my RSS reader and my inbox. You probably do, too. Typically I parse through it with a eye for what would ...

Beta = Exclusive? Not Necessarily

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RwXVxMm7oqI/AAAAAAAAAe8/mtNQ3_mro9A/s1600-h/Beta.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117731592751260322" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RwXVxMm7oqI/AAAAAAAAAe8/mtNQ3_mro9A/s200/Beta.png" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>As new sites and applications appear on a near-daily basis (think I'm kidding? Put <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/">TechCrunch</a> in your RSS feed and see how many posts a day they crank out), you'll inevitably get shut out of sites with beta invites. And with only so many friends in the social media space, what's a desperate beta tester to do? Until now, it was beg, plead and work your social networks. But there's a site that's got an answer. Over at <a href="http://www.inviteshare.com/">InviteShare</a>, you can do just that - share your beta invitations with others, or ask for beta invitations from them. For example, when you sign up for <a href="http://www.grandcentral.com/">GrandCentral</a>, you get 10 beta invites. Maybe you've only given invitations to 4 people in your network - you can let people at InviteShare know that you have 6 invitations left. Similarly, you can put in requests for those hard-to-find beta site invitations, like <a href="http://mash.yahoo.com/">Yahoo Mash</a>, the aforementioned GrandCentral, <a href="http://www.pownce.com/">Pownce</a>, etc. Now, don't expect the ultra-exclusive sites like <a href="http://www.asmallworld.com/">aSmallWorld</a> or <a href="http://www.diamondlounge.com/">Diamond Lounge</a> to have any invitations there. Some social networks are too good for that.

Beta = Exclusive? Not Necessarily

As new sites and applications appear on a near-daily basis (think I'm kidding? Put TechCrunch in your RSS feed and see how many posts a...

Quality or Quantity?

<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RwMSBcm7omI/AAAAAAAAAec/MqjwGNRC9Ko/s1600-h/quantqual_curve.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116953417691669090" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/RwMSBcm7omI/AAAAAAAAAec/MqjwGNRC9Ko/s200/quantqual_curve.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>It's that age-old conundrum. Quality vs. quantity. 
 
<a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/">Mitch Joel</a> got me thinking - not an unusual result after reading his stuff. On <a href="http://www.twitter.com/scottmonty">Twitter</a>, he opined: 
<blockquote>
"I am disappointed that most of my favourite Blogs have become receptacles for Twitter feeds and del.icio.us links. Come on people... Blog!"</blockquote>
I've gotta say - he has a point. It seems that the pervasiveness of SocNets like Twitter and Facebook have resulted in the trailing off of blog posts, to a certain degree. I can't say that it's affected my own frequency (work is more responsible for that), but I can see the attraction of spitting out short bursts of information rather than longer more cerebral pieces. 
 
It takes a certain concerted effort to put together a well thought-out post that hits a variety of buttons - topical, emotional, etc. And that's not always easy to do in our everything-now fast-paced lives. You'll note that a number of my posts lately have been heavy lifting - which is a plus, because it's brought many of you here. 
 
Why Not Quality AND Quantity? 
But at a certain point, I've got to mix quantity in with quality. But at the same time, I recognize that I can't go on for long with only one "real" post a week. So I'm taking Mitch up on his challenge and I will be hitting the blogging keys more frequently. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll do away with the del.icio.us links, though. 
 
So I'll open it up to you. Do you find my <a href="http://del.icio.us/socialmediamarketing" style="font-weight: bold;">del.icio.us</a> bookmarks to be a reasonable complement to the other posts? Should I do away with them entirely? What value are you getting from my posts - the links or the longer pieces?

Quality or Quantity?

It's that age-old conundrum. Quality vs. quantity. Mitch Joel got me thinking - not an unusual result after reading his stuff. On Twi...

Even the Most Subtle Decisions Are Made for a Reason

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/Rv1ot8m7ojI/AAAAAAAAAeE/ksMsxsT9BF0/s1600-h/crayon_blue_.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115359890335572530" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/Rv1ot8m7ojI/AAAAAAAAAeE/ksMsxsT9BF0/s200/crayon_blue_.png" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>It seems I'm in good company. <a href="http://buzzfeed.com/buzz/Dark_Blue">Blue is in right now</a> - my official color with crayon is Midnight Blue (<a href="http://gregverdino.typepad.com">Greg</a> is green and <a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com">Joseph</a> is Aquamarine. I'll let them explain their own choices, if they wish). I chose that color when I joined because - well, look around you here on my blog for a hint. But more than that, I chose the color for a business reason. Since I deal with clients on a regular basis, I wanted to espouse some of the feelings that blue typically conveys: <blockquote><ul><li>Openness</li><li>Calm, cool and soothing effects</li><li>A feeling of well-being</li><li>Fidelity</li></ul></blockquote> I know a lot of this might be hocus-pocus or completely subjective. Does blue have any sort of effect on you or on the decisions you make? Would you or have you ever decided against a brand or product because of its color?

Even the Most Subtle Decisions Are Made for a Reason

It seems I'm in good company. Blue is in right now - my official color with crayon is Midnight Blue ( Greg is green and Joseph is Aqu...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor