Scott Monty

Social Media Jobs Are Hot

I'm pleased to report that the job market for social media is taking off. A post in <a href="http://www.visinsights.com/index.php/?p=210">VisInsights </a>indicated that more companies are starting to put together job description for social media types. It's encouraging to see that organizations are not only taking social media seriously by apportioning budgets for programs, but they're also staffing against them. Here's some visual evidence: <center><div style="width: 405px;"> <a href="http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends?q=%22social+networking%22%2C+%22social+media%22%2C+blogs%2C+%22web+2.0%22" title=""social networking", "social media", blogs, "web 2.0" Job Trends"> <img src="http://www.indeed.com/trendgraph/jobgraph.png?q=%22social+networking%22%2C+%22social+media%22%2C+blogs%2C+%22web+2.0%22" alt=""social networking", "social media", blogs, "web 2.0" Job Trends graph" border="0" height="225" width="405" /> </a> <table style="font-size: 80%;" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"></table></div></center> One of the classic knee-jerk responses to instituting a social media program is "my staff is already swamped with work, they can't take on something else." It looks like that complaint has been met with the retort courteous, "Then hire someone new." What should be particularly interesting is to see how many of these jobs end up being cross-functional. That is, to date, it's been impossible to compartmentalize social media: it seems to have parts of PR, advertising, brand management, customer service, employee communications and product development, to name a few. If I had an option, I'd go for the job that allowed social media to seep into / tap into all of those areas. Every week Jeremiah Owyang has <a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/category/on-the-move/">a feature on new jobs and new hires</a> in social media. It's worth checking out his site as a resource, as well as: <ul><li><a href="http://www.communityguy.com/jobs/">Jake McKee’s community portal for jobs</a></li><li>Chris Heuer’s <a href="http://www.socialmediajobs.com/">Social Media Jobs</a></li><li><a href="http://www.socialmediajobs.com/">socialmediajobs.com</a> </li><li><a href="http://monty.jobamatic.com/a/jbb/find-jobs">My own Jobamatic link</a> here or over in the sidebar</li></ul>If you'd ever like to chat about getting started in the social media field, I'm more than happy to speak with you.

Social Media Jobs Are Hot

I'm pleased to report that the job market for social media is taking off. A post in VisInsights indicated that more companies are starti...

Social Media for B2B Marketing: Don't Monkey Around

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R8N_RTWC7uI/AAAAAAAAAsc/sHcX12U-OEE/s1600-h/3monkeys_boardroom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R8N_RTWC7uI/AAAAAAAAAsc/sHcX12U-OEE/s200/3monkeys_boardroom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171116732378705634" border="0" /></a>As a former classical studies major, I’m fascinated with etymology, the study of linguistics. The word that is the focus of so <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470137320?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0470137320">many</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470137320?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0470137320"> marketing</a> <a href="http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation">books</a> – conversation – has its origins in the Latin word conversari, which means "to dwell, to keep company with." And this is entirely appropriate in the name of social media marketing, since having conversations requires spending time with people – namely, customers. Too often in B2B marketing, we see the definition of the more personal "customer" devolve into the distant and cold "decision maker." Decision makers are relegated to the sales cycle, engaged in research and in need of information and education. The prevalent attitude seems to be that marketers develop the message and decide which information to share with decision makers. This is command and control, with unidirectional messaging at its core. Is it any wonder then why B2B companies are slow to adopt social media as a marketing channel? It's not that B2B customers are steering clear of social media. On the contrary, they use blogs, message boards, podcasts and online communities in their research for business solutions as well as in their personal lives. But B2B marketers don’t seem to be aware of – or worse – care about conversations that are taking place within the social media space about their brands. Brands are being discussed, both positively and negatively; now marketers can follow the conversations and join in. Ignoring it won’t make the problem dissipate; indeed, businesses that continue to put off the decision to join the conversations will find themselves at a disadvantage. But – to return to our etymology lesson – marketers need to spend time with their prospects and begin to embrace bidirectional conversation. A simple way to start is to <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/08/want-free-marketing-secret-listen-up.html">listen</a>. Keep listening. And listen some more. Take the time to explore the sites. Look around. Follow the conversations with RSS feeds. Above all, resist the temptation to jump in until you understand the context. Businesses that attempt to harness the power of social networks or new media sites without realizing the generally accepted etiquette will find themselves unwelcome. It is only by listening and learning that B2B marketers will be able to start talking with their customers. Note: this post originally appeared as a chapter in <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation">The Age of Conversation</a>.

Social Media for B2B Marketing: Don't Monkey Around

As a former classical studies major, I’m fascinated with etymology, the study of linguistics. The word that is the focus of so many marketi...

This is the Tops

<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R7_WGTWC7qI/AAAAAAAAAsA/ICv4ny_wz-Q/s1600-h/Alltop.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R7_WGTWC7qI/AAAAAAAAAsA/ICv4ny_wz-Q/s200/Alltop.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170086301004918434" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 245px;" /></a>I've got to hand it to Guy Kawasaki. The founder of <a href="http://www.truemors.com/">Trumors</a> and <a href="http://www.garage.com/">Garage Technology Ventures</a>, who writes <a href="http://blog.guykawasaki.com/">How to Change the World</a>, is at it again. 
 
Under the auspices of Nononina, he has launched a new site called <a href="http://alltop.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Alltop</a>, which is an aggregation of topics, sorted by category. For example, categories include 
<ul>
<li><a href="http://autos.alltop.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Autos</a> - sites like <a href="http://www.audiworld.com/">AudiWorld</a>, <a href="http://www.motortrend.com/">Motor Trend</a>, and <a href="http://www.fastlanedaily.com/">Fast Lane Daily</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gadgets.alltop.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Gadgets</a> - including <a href="http://www.engadget.com/">Engadget</a>, <a href="http://gizmodo.com/">Gizmodo</a>, and <a href="http://gadgets.alltop.com/"></a><a href="http://www.coolbusinessideas.com/">CoolBusinessIdeas.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://egos.alltop.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Egos</a> - you'll recognize many of the names and discover new ones. I like that my friend <a href="http://www.conversationagent.com/">Valeria Maltoni</a> (whom I'd call a personality rather than an ego) is sandwiched between <a href="http://www.rosie.com/blog">Rosie O'Donnell</a> and <a href="http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/default.aspx">Brian Williams</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://moms.alltop.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Moms</a> - featuring the likes of <a href="http://www.mommybloggers.com/">MommyBloggers</a>, <a href="http://www.entrepremusings.com/">entrepreMusings</a>, <a href="http://techmamas.typepad.com/main/">TechMamas</a> and more. </li>
</ul>
Other categories include Celebrities, Cute, Design, Fashion, Gaming, Green, Mac, News, Photography, Oddities, Politics, Science, Small Business, Sports, and Tech. 
 
And I'm pleased to say that our site is listed on the <a href="http://socialmedia.alltop.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Social Media</a> Alltop page. There are too many great sites to mention (and I don't want to offend anyone by accidentally leaving their name off), so take a look for yourself; you won't be disappointed. 
 
Overall, Alltop is a worthy site. The design is clean - almost a minimalist version of a Netvibes page - and the sites they've selected contain a healthy combination of the usual suspects and sites that are new to me. There's almost too much to explore here! 
 
I'm looking forward to watching this effort continue, as I know Guy does some great stuff. 
 
Do you have any favorite sites that are listed on Alltop? I'd love to know which ones they are.

This is the Tops

I've got to hand it to Guy Kawasaki. The founder of Trumors and Garage Technology Ventures , who writes How to Change the World , is at...

Generation Y and Your Business

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R7u6rDWC7oI/AAAAAAAAArw/LC7uAd1J1nM/s1600-h/GenY4dummies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R7u6rDWC7oI/AAAAAAAAArw/LC7uAd1J1nM/s200/GenY4dummies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168930246132690562" border="0" /></a>Call them "Gen Y," "Millennials," "Echo Boomers," or whatever you want - just be sure you call them, because they've got something to say. I was listening to episode 79 of HBR Ideacast, <a href="http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/misc/ideacast/archives_hbrideacast.jhtml;jsessionid=VZX0GFU1A1ZU4AKRGWCB5VQBKE0YOISW#episode79">Managing Generation Y</a>, in which Tammy Erickson, who writes the <a href="http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/erickson/">Across the Ages</a> column for the Harvard Business Review, was interviewed. As I was listening, I realized that in addition to the baby boomers, this is a generation that is potentially going to change the way you're doing business - or at least thinking about doing business. There are implications to marketing, internal communications, social media, and organizational behavior here. In the podcast, they referred to the "self-assured, overly emotive, text messaging" generation who are "happy to tackle the big jobs, and they'll do it with confidence." This should be welcome news to any manager's ears, but I think this should be tempered with an acute awareness of the idiosyncratic traits that this generation brings with them. Let's look at them one by one: Impatience/Immediacy I've often said that this is the generation that wants to be an intern on Monday and the CEO by Friday. I admire that kind of drive, but I also wrinkle my nose at the hubris that accompanies it; there seems to be a lack of willingness to put in the time and gain the experience necessary for such a role. According to the Erickson, this is deeper than just youthful impatience; she says they're likely be impatient for their entire lives. She posits that during their formative years, Gen Y has been bombarded with inexplicable, sudden and tragic events such as 9/11, Columbine and Virginia Tech - and that they've decided that they need to live life now. I think it goes a little deeper than that (perhaps she was limited in time on the show). Look at the way the cable news networks have evolved over the last 10-15 years. Whether it's padding their daytime programming with Iraq war I or II, the O.J. Simpson chase & trial, or the latest celebrity overdose, all of the news outlets are catering to a need (?) for more information, now. When you take this institutionalized view of news, information and service, it's not too much of a stretch to think that Gen Y is going to expect fast results in the workplace. But at the same time, I think we need to keep in mind that this desire for results and action may come at a price: the inability to think strategically. Granted, there are very few (if any) strategic planners who are 20-somethings. But if they have this nurtured aversion to longer-term thinking, there may be trouble ahead. <ul><li>Lesson: harness the impatience and drive and turn it into an opportunity to let loose their unbridled energy on training in strategic marketing.</li></ul> Let Me Tell You What I Think By and large, this generation has grown up in a peer to peer world, where they're used to openly sharing ideas and not being shy about saying what they think. Odds are that in the workplace, if they have an idea that will benefit you, they'll share it - with managers, directors, and even CEOs. <ul><li>Lesson: tap into this reservoir of creativity and fresh perspective and get their input on as many facets of your business as possible.</li></ul> Technology This is the generation that€ was raised on text messaging. They look up on email as an outmoded style of communication. To them text messaging is personal, immediate, and it gets results. They can't understand why it takes us 16 emails deep in a chain to come up with a time to schedule a conference call. To them, it's a no-brainer: text, boom, done. In addition, TiVo, Facebook and other technologies lead them to doing things on their own time. We've been used to structure & scheduling, while they do things when time allows them to do so. Asynchronous behavior may become more prevalent. <ul><li>Lesson: be open to trying out IM or presence applications in our day-to-day lives, with internal communications, and possibly with marketing.</li></ul> Parents' Roles Gen Y likes their parents; not surprising when these "helicopter parents" are involved in many aspects of their children's lives. While this can be incredibly annoying (and these kinds of parents should ease off, lest they tarnish their kids' reputations in the workforce), it does have one positive side effect: Gen Y has great working relationships with Boomers in the workplace. <ul><li>Lesson: use this natural attraction to create strong mentoring programs between Boomers & Gen Y-ers, to share knowledge.</li></ul> There is no doubt that this generation will have a huge impact on the world. They're certainly ready for us. But are we ready for them? What do you think? How have you experienced Gen Y in the workplace, either as a Boomer, a Gen X-er, or a Gen Y-er yourself? And what do you think the answers are?

Generation Y and Your Business

Call them "Gen Y," "Millennials," "Echo Boomers," or whatever you want - just be sure you call them, because t...

Can I Share Something with You?

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1397/1404997619_87a3e70364.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1397/1404997619_87a3e70364_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've been a little distracted lately. Not because of <a href="http://twitter.com/scottmonty">Twitter</a>, not because of my <a href="http://www.bakerstreetblog.com/">other</a> <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/">interests</a>, but because of a very complex and detailed project I've been working on at <a href="http://www.crayonville.com/">crayon</a>. I'm very excited about it and happy to tell you about it now that it has launched. To say that this project has been my life lately is an understatement. My colleagues know it. My friends sense it. And my family feels it - and I thank them for their amazing patience and support. But in the end, I think we've got the makings of a fairly unique project that's bringing together bloggers/podcasters/authors and their respective communities like never before - all in the name of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470137320?ie=UTF8&tag=thebakerstree-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470137320">Conversation </a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebakerstree-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0470137320" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" />. Let me explain. The project I've been working on is for <a href="http://www.oovoo.com/">ooVoo </a>, a crayon client that<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R6jm8oNDjbI/AAAAAAAAAro/NKDLCESNCBs/s1600-h/oovoo6wayevensmaller.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R6jm8oNDjbI/AAAAAAAAAro/NKDLCESNCBs/s200/oovoo6wayevensmaller.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163630902038990258" border="0" /></a> does video chat - but more than just any video chat. As you can see, it allows up to 6 people to talk at once. Plus with the latest version, you can actually record video conversations. I won't get into all of the details here. If you want to know more, just check out <a href="http://oovoo.com//help/">some tutorials & stuff</a> on ooVoo's site. Our goal with ooVoo is to help build awareness - they're a fairly young startup - and introduce people to what they can do. So we came up with a pretty interesting way for bloggers & podcasters to connect with their communities, face to face. We're calling it "<a href="http://www.myoovooday.com/">My ooVoo Day With...</a>" and we've got 23 bloggers participating - the list includes: <ul><li>Mitch Joel/<a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/">Six Pixels of Separation</a></li><li>Steve Hall/<a href="http://adrants.com/">AdRants</a></li><li>Bob Garfield/<a href="http://bobgarfield.net/">AdAge & On the Media</a></li><li>Joseph Jaffe/<a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/">JaffeJuice</a></li><li>John Wall & Christopher Penn/<a href="http://www.marketingovercoffee.com/">Marketing Over Coffee</a></li><li><a href="http://tastyblogsnack.com/">iJustine</a></li><li>Marshall Kirkpatrick/<a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/">ReadWriteWeb</a></li><li>Irina Slutsky/<a href="http://www.geekentertainment.tv/">GeekEntertainment.tv</a></li><li> Connie Reece & Susan Reynolds <a href="http://www.everydotconnects.com/">Every Dot Connects / </a><a href="http://susanreynolds.blogs.com/boobsonice/">Boobs on Ice</a></li><li>Chris Thilk/<a href="http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/blog/">Movie Marketing Madness</a></li><li>Erin Kotecki Vest/<a href="http://queenofspainblog.com/">Queen of Spain</a></li><li>Dave Delaney/<a href="http://www.twoboobsandababy.com/">Two Boobs and a Baby +</a></li><li>Jack Myers & Friends/<a href="http://www.jackmyers.com/">Media Village</a></li><li>David Meerman Scott/<a href="http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/">The New Rules of Marketing & PR</a></li><li>Geoff Livingston/<a href="http://nowisgone.com/">Now Is Gone</a></li><li>Allan Cox/<a href="http://www.yourinnerceo.com/">Your Inner CEO</a></li><li>George Parker/<a href="http://www.adscam.typepad.com/">Madscam</a></li><li><a href="http://scottsigler.com/">Scott Sigler</a></li><li><a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/">Chris Brogan</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cc-chapman.com/">C.C. Chapman</a></li><li>Susan Reynolds/<a href="http://susanreynolds.blogs.com/boobsonice/">Boobs on Ice</a></li><li><a href="http://pistachioconsulting.com/blog/">Laura "Pistachio" Fitton</a></li></ul> As you can imagine, these are busy people who have little time in general. Well, ooVoo is thanking them by primarily sponsoring the the <a href="http://www.frozenpeafund.com/">Frozen Pea Fund</a>, a fund established to support the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign, in honor of blogger, Twitterer and cancer patient <a href="http://susanreynolds.blogs.com/boobsonice">Susan Reynolds</a>. A handful of the hosts have selected their own charities for ooVoo to support as well. But in the end, this is all about conversation - not about ooVoo, mind you, but about whatever these bloggers and their communities want to discuss. ooVoo is just the enabler. In fact, we're determined to see ooVoo become the "unooficial" sponsor of conversation. So, how does this work? Check it out: <center><object allowfullscreen="true" data="http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&file=http%3A%2F%2Foovoo%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf" height="255" id="showplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&file=http%3A%2F%2Foovoo%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf"><param name="quality" value="best"><embed src="http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&file=http%3A%2F%2Foovoo%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf" quality="best" name="showplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="255" width="400"></embed></object></center> So, all you have to do is go over to <a href="http://www.myoovooday.com/">My ooVoo Day With...</a>, download the software (for Mac or PC - both are still in beta), and pick the blogger of your choice. You can sign up for a single session with any of them and chat with them about whatever they've got scheduled. If you'd like to tell anyone else about it, you can grab some multimedia elements from the <a href="http://myoovooday.smnr.us/">social media news release</a> that our partners over at <a href="http://abrahamharrison.eu/">Abraham & Harrison</a> created. What are you waiting for? ooVoo someone today? (That was a mouthful just to explain - can you imagine trying to coordinate all of it?)

Can I Share Something with You?

I've been a little distracted lately. Not because of Twitter , not because of my other interests , but because of a very complex and de...

3 Steps to Getting Your Blog Posts Noticed

<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R6fypoNDjaI/AAAAAAAAArg/niQX3USHNH8/s1600-h/tips.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R6fypoNDjaI/AAAAAAAAArg/niQX3USHNH8/s200/tips.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163362294784298402" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>I've got a social media lesson for getting your blog posts noticed: it comes down to timing & technique. 
 
Last Friday, the early-morning news broke about Microsoft's offer to buy Yahoo. You know the story by now. But I first caught wind of it on <a href="http://twitter.com/scottmonty">Twitter</a>, then quickly found the news on the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/">Wall Street Journal Online</a>. 
 
I was lucky enough to be up and working at the time - about 6:30 or so - and I quickly threw together <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2008/02/microhoo.html">a post that combined visual humor with a little analysis</a>. With Google's ability to quickly index blog posts, I found that my post consistently ranked in the top 5 search results for "Microhoo" on Friday. 
 
And today, I was rewarded with an interview request from a writer at <a href="http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Blogosphere-Crackles-With-Talk-of-Microhoo-and-Yahsoft-61517.html">TechNewsWorld</a>. He said that he noticed my blog post and wanted to get some additional views on the Microsoft-Yahoo deal. He used my quotes in the article <a href="http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Blogosphere-Crackles-With-Talk-of-Microhoo-and-Yahsoft-61517.html">Blogosphere Crackles with Talk of Microsoft and Yahoo</a>. 
 
Here are the three components that I believe led to my post getting noticed: 
<ol>
<li>Timing is everything - be quick to pick up on major developments.</li>
<li>Put your unique spin on it - in my case, it was to use humor, information, and opinion together, to appeal to and provide value to as many readers as might notice the post.</li>
<li>Be considerate of your rushed readers - write catchy headlines that bring them in and when they're here, be concise as you make your points.</li>
</ol>

3 Steps to Getting Your Blog Posts Noticed

I've got a social media lesson for getting your blog posts noticed: it comes down to timing & technique. Last Friday, the early-mo...

One More Thought About YahSoSoft

Or MicroHoo. Whatever. It's not long before we see Googlezon , I'm sure. Anyway, it occurred to me that Steve Ballmer's song &am...

MicroHoo?

Breaking news this morning is that <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120186587368234937.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news">Microsoft has made a $44 billion offer to buy Yahoo</a>. There's a lot of shock and surprise out there, but I think it makes a lot of sense. Here's why: 
<ul>
<li>MSFT has been lagging behind Google in many areas, and this is a way to shore up the gap</li>
<li>YHOO owns some pretty attractive social media sites: <a href="http://flickr.com/">Flickr</a>, <a href="http://del.icio.us/">del.icio.us</a>, <a href="http://upcoming.org/">Upcoming</a>, to name a few - this is a great way for MSFT to get in the game</li>
<li>The combined search capabilities of the two would be something</li>
<li>And the online advertising opportunities would abound</li>
</ul>
Lots of people are excited about it. But no one more so than Microsoft's CEO. Let's see just how crazy Steve Ballmer gets: 
 
<center>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/04FOUQpnGsc?rel=0" width="640"></iframe></center>
 
 
Happy Friday.

MicroHoo?

Breaking news this morning is that Microsoft has made a $44 billion offer to buy Yahoo . There's a lot of shock and surprise out there, ...

Does Marketing Get Social Media?

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R6KsvINDjYI/AAAAAAAAArM/g4fdNsxcmi8/s1600-h/head_scratch.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/R6KsvINDjYI/AAAAAAAAArM/g4fdNsxcmi8/s200/head_scratch.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161878048576081282" border="0" /></a>Last night, I attended an event hosted by the <a href="http://www.amaboston.org/">Boston chapter</a> of the <a href="http://www.marketingpower.com/">American Marketing Association</a>. It was titled "The Impact of Social Media on Marketing." The format was friendly and inviting, very much in the spirit of social media. We mixed with each other freely, connecting with <a href="http://www.roninmarketeer.com/">old friends</a> and meeting new ones. And we were asked a couple of questions, which we debated in small groups: <ul><li>Five years from now, will "Web 2.0" (aka social media) sites be used more for traffic or building relationships?</li><li>Should companies get involved in social media now, or wait it out?</li></ul>Now, aside from the sheer absurdity of thinking we'll be able to predict what the Web and marketing will look like in 5 years, it was telling that the organizers are thinking of social media in terms of traffic rather than relationship building. To anyone who is even remotely familiar with social media right now, it's clear that the social aspect (aka relationships, engagement, etc.) is at the core. Our answers were tallied and it was interesting to see how each question resulted in a 3:1 split in favor of social media: <ul><li>75% thought Web 2.0 sites would be relationship-centric</li><li>75% thought companies should get involved now</li></ul>While I'm encouraged to see a majority support some of the basics behind social media, I'm concerned about that other 25%. There's really no excuse not to be involved in social media right now, even if it's about <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/08/want-free-marketing-secret-listen-up.html">listening</a>. But the alarming one was that they think that in 5 years traffic is going to be the metric that's central to social media. It's not even central now. Earlier this week, I asked my <a href="http://twitter.com/scottmonty">Twitter</a> followers if web site traffic even mattered for social media. Here are some of the responses: <ul><li>to 99% of the people that will be paying you these days it does. (<a href="http://www.tombiro.com/">Tom Biro</a>) </li><li>I've heard a lot of interesting thing about volume of posts and things like sentiment extraction and comment clustering (<a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=PRF002884">Rachel Happe</a>) </li><li> I think it's worth looking at. But the real # that should matter is how many people are truly engaged? (<a href="http://www.freshpeel.com/">Chris Wilson</a>) </li><li>Comscore and Nielsen have metrics such as visits/minutes spent on the site per user.'engagement' is dependent on the context tho (<a href="http://mmu.facebook.com/s.php?k=100000080&id=500060489">Jamie Nathan</a>) </li></ul>And in an email exchange, <a href="http://chrisbrogan.com/">Chris Brogan</a> made the point that because so much of social media is distributed and disaggregated, we don't get the full impact of measurement - some people might be reading your feed on Facebook or never leave their RSS reader, or share your content via email. It's definitely a challenge for social media - the notion that content should be open and distributed is in direct juxtaposition to most of our current notions about measurement. But where we are able to measure, I think my Twitter peeps have it right - it's much more about engagement and interaction than it is about traffic. When are the other 25% of marketers going to realize that?

Does Marketing Get Social Media?

Last night, I attended an event hosted by the Boston chapter of the American Marketing Association . It was titled "The Impact of Soci...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor