Scott Monty

Living in a Web 2.0 World

Living in a Web 2.0 World

This is one of those things that's just really cool. Take 1,001 logos from so-called Web 2.0 companies, use AndreaMosaic , a photo mosai...

Think Banner Ads Are Effective?

While many marketing executives may tout banner ads because they're so easy to track, that doesn't necessarily take into account how annoying they can be. Well, to be fair, banner ads that are targeted and relevant to the content you're reading may be a little more palatable. But in most cases, it's you vs. them. You take your life into your own hands when you click on some enticing offer. Here's a little gem from Current.tv's "<a href=" http://current.com/items/89036200_man_vs_banner_ad">infomania</a>" show: <center><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="400" width="400"> <param name="movie" value="http://current.com/e/89036200"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://current.com/e/89036200" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="400" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object> </center>

Think Banner Ads Are Effective?

While many marketing executives may tout banner ads because they're so easy to track, that doesn't necessarily take into account how...

Why I'm Blue

<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SFcrYFASLMI/AAAAAAAAA04/nifsvaiHOMg/s1600-h/B2BConference.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212682786364861634" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SFcrYFASLMI/AAAAAAAAA04/nifsvaiHOMg/s200/B2BConference.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a>In branding and design, color plays an important role in evoking emotions. It also plays a key role in my life - in general, as well as at <a href="http://www.crayonville.com/">crayon</a>, where I'm fortunate enough to be called "Consigliere." 
 
When I joined crayon, I chose Midnight Blue as my official color - I believe I <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/09/even-most-subtle-decisions-are-made-for.html">explained that here previously</a>. It's the color of my blog, of one of the many sports coats you'll see me in, and a color that tends to inspire the sort of impression from clients that a consultant wants. 
 
According to <a href="http://brainbasedbiz.blogspot.com/2008/01/color-choices-might-reveal-much-about.html">Brain Based Biz</a>, Blue signifies: 
<blockquote>
Confidence, travel, freedom, truth, professionalism, wealth and power. Also tranquility, dependable, acceptance, patience, understanding, cooperation, comfort, loyalty and security. It is one of the most calming colors and is associated with the sky and the sea, intelligence, reassurance, and trust.</blockquote>
In short, it's a traditional, conservative and corporate color. 
 
So perhaps it should be no surprise that my corporate genes have finally gotten the better of me and I'll be leaving the startup life at crayon to join the very blue corporate ranks. In fact, I'll be joining a company that's got one of the most recognized logos in the world incorporating the color blue. Next month, I'll be joining <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford" style="font-weight: bold;">Ford Motor Company</a> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:F" style="font-weight: bold;">F</a>), to head the social media efforts there. 
 
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bDjZ6K8wmV0/UzsdPStDZII/AAAAAAAASPc/F80vRLIJhyw/s1600/Ford+WHQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bDjZ6K8wmV0/UzsdPStDZII/AAAAAAAASPc/F80vRLIJhyw/s1600/Ford+WHQ.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
 
 My time with crayon has been rewarding as I've had the opportunity to work with some marketing and social media greats like <a href="http://www.jaffejuice.com/">Joseph Jaffe</a>, <a href="http://gregverdino.typepad.com/">Greg Verdino</a>, <a href="http://www.managingthegray.com/">C.C. Chapman</a>, <a href="http://theadvanceguard.com/">Steve Coulson</a>, <a href="http://www.garydcohen.com/">Gary Cohen</a>, while just missing working with <a href="http://blog.holtz.com/">Shel Holz</a> and <a href="http://www.nevillehobson.com/">Neville Hobson</a>. And it's been gratifying working with clients like Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Audi, ooVoo and more, who are all experimenting with conversational marketing in one form or another. 
 
Now I'll have the opportunity to work with another talented team of communications executives at Ford, as well as Maggie Fox and the <a href="http://socialmediagroup.ca/">Social Media Group</a>, who have been so successful in launching <a href="http://ford.digitalsnippets.com/">Digital Snippets</a> with Ford. 
 
Of course, it means leaving the Boston area and relocating out to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dearborn%2C_Michigan">Dearborn</a>. There are so many friends and colleagues that I'll be leaving behind, particularly in the <a href="http://socialmediaboston.org/">social media</a> field. Having been here for nearly 20 years, it's going to be difficult to move on. You might even say I'm feeling a little blue. 
 
But I'm looking forward to new friends and opportunities, and the prospect of building a solid digital communications strategy from within a company, making a difference to customers, employees, partners and stakeholders. It's going to be a nice ride. 
 
Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/financialaidpodcast/" style="font-style: italic;">Financial Aid Podcast</a>

Why I'm Blue

In branding and design, color plays an important role in evoking emotions. It also plays a key role in my life - in general, as well as at c...

Twitter Does It Again

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SEic1O9gCVI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/9TPHkOK8-W0/s1600-h/whale.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208585407417026898" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SEic1O9gCVI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/9TPHkOK8-W0/s200/whale.png" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>If you're still doubting the use of or need for <a href="http://twitter.com/ScottMonty">Twitter</a>, this is the post for you. I'm constantly amazed at what a powerful personal and professional network it is for me. When it's working (which has been <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/davemadethat.267678905">sporadic</a> of late), it can transform the way you think about relationships. Let me give you a real-life example. Earlier this week, I headed down to New York to see a client. I usually do day trips on the Acela, but this time, I had an evening commitment and I needed to be in Washington, DC the following day. So the day before, I went online to find a hotel room in the city - which is usually not a problem, especially with the last-minute travel sites. Only this time, it was different. No rooms in the city were to be had for under $800. I could stay at a hotel near the airport, but my commitments required me to be other places in the city, so it would be a logistical nightmare (and expensive) to stay near the airport. What to do? I turned to Twitter, of course. Many people in my network were willing to help - I received replies directly on Twitter and private direct messages. Suggestions ranged from specific hotels they knew to areas of the city to consider, all the way to someone who pulled up a specific price quote on a room for me. The problem was, all of these places were sold out. As I was waiting, I tweeted: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SEo5KClo4YI/AAAAAAAAA0o/UBeNdDFYblw/s1600-h/Twitter_hotels.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209038763663614338" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SEo5KClo4YI/AAAAAAAAA0o/UBeNdDFYblw/s400/Twitter_hotels.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> Well, I learned never to underestimate the power of the crowd. Tim Peter (<a href="http://twitter.com/tcpeter">@tcpeter</a>) came forward to say: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SEo5ZmTUlQI/AAAAAAAAA0w/-3AEaMxLtU0/s1600-h/Twitter_hotel.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209039030948500738" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/SEo5ZmTUlQI/AAAAAAAAA0w/-3AEaMxLtU0/s400/Twitter_hotel.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a> Turns out he is working with a group that does luxury reservations and this was their impetus to start a Twitter account (<a href="http://twitter.com/luxres">@luxres</a>). I received a tweet from them asking how they could help, and within the next 15 minutes, they got me a reservation at the <a href="http://www.mansfieldhotel.com/">Mansfield</a>, a boutique hotel in midtown Manhattan. Perfect! While the price was a little more than I wanted to spend, it was nowhere near the gouging for some of the rooms I had seen. Thanks to a well-connected and attentive community, I was able to keep myself off of a Central Park bench for the night. It just goes to show, that if you take them time to invest in relationships and being a valued member of a community, it can work in your favor when you need it. Special thanks to (a bunch of people you should be following on Twitter): <a href="http://twitter.com/tcpeter">@tcpeter</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/luxres">@luxres</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/chelpixie">@chelpixie</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/SavvyAuntie">@SavvyAuntie</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/DonnaPapacosta">@DonnaPapacosta</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/Spangles">@Spangles</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/joec0914">@joec0914</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/adamcohen">@adamcohen</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/stevemann">@stevemann</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/ParentopiaDevra">@ParentopiaDevra</a>.

Twitter Does It Again

If you're still doubting the use of or need for Twitter , this is the post for you. I'm constantly amazed at what a powerful persona...

Social Media in Plain English

I've been writing about social media for almost two years. But I still have to explain what social media is to people who aren't familiar with marketing and communications. Well, maybe even to some who are familiar with the marketing and communications... 
 
Anyway, leave it to the good folks at <a href="http://commoncraft.com/">Common Craft</a> to give us <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/1083838?pg=embed&sec=1083838">Social Media in Plain English</a>. As usual, they do a fine job of taking the complex and making it understandable. 
 
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Social Media in Plain English

I've been writing about social media for almost two years. But I still have to explain what social media is to people who aren't fam...

Streaming Media East Footage

As you may know, I was on a panel at Streaming Media East a couple of weeks ago. The panel, which had a few last minute changes in personnel, was well received and well attended. In case you'd like to see what <a href="http://www.thinkjose.com/">Jose Castillo</a>, <a href="http://www.stevegarfield.com/">Steve Garfield</a>, <a href="http://www.pop17.com/">Sarah Austin</a> and <a href="http://www.flixwagon.com/">Sarig Reichert</a> and I had to say, here's the session. And if you don't have an hour to kill, just fast-forward to the 57:00 mark to hear our closing remarks. It's well worth it! <center><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1344656541" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=1580383903&playerId=1344656541&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://services.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="550" width="510"></embed></center> If you'd like to see all of the videos from the show, you can check them out <a href="http://www.streamingmedia.com/videos/">here</a>. Do you have any thoughts on the future of lifestreaming? Please share them here.

Streaming Media East Footage

As you may know, I was on a panel at Streaming Media East a couple of weeks ago. The panel, which had a few last minute changes in personnel...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor