Scott Monty

Facebook - at the Center of Your Messaging Life

Well, it's finally here. After Facebook announced that they'd have <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/11/15/facebook-messaging-event/">an email solution that's <b><i>not</i></b> email</a>, they've rolled it out to the public.<br />
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This morning, on my Facebook news feed, I saw the following message regarding Facebook's new Messages:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TTL-OBitBZI/AAAAAAAACGo/r6ZckjvWfg0/s1600/Facebookchatmessage.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TTL-OBitBZI/AAAAAAAACGo/r6ZckjvWfg0/s400/Facebookchatmessage.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The new system combines your messages, texts and chats in one place so you don't have to try to remember how you communicated with your contacts in order to find what you're looking for. But it also does one other important thing - something that's a salvo at Google's Gmail: users are given the opportunity to get a Facebook email account.<br />
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Why would you want a Facebook email? According to Facebook:<br />
<blockquote>There are many benefits to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=19031">claiming your Facebook email address</a>:<br />
<ul><li>It’s free and easy to set up.<br />
</li>
<li>Having your email integrated with your messages, chats and texts makes it easier to check them all at once. And if you’re looking for a message later, you don’t have to worry about how it was sent since all your different types of messages are in one place.<br />
</li>
<li>Your Facebook messages are compatible with traditional email systems (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail). When people send you emails from these external systems, they’re delivered directly to your Facebook Messages. And when you send messages to external email addresses, they’re formatted to look like your messages on Facebook, including your name and profile picture along with your message.<br />
</li>
<li>Owning your @facebook.com address makes it easier for friends and family who are not on Facebook yet to connect with you.<br />
</li>
<li>Your other email addresses may change over time, but your Facebook email never does.</li>
</ul></blockquote><br />
Personally, I"m a committed Gmail user, since my Google account integrates with many other platforms (such as Blogger, which this blog is written on), among others. I don't know if I'll give this a try or not.<br />
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But a little bit behind what's driving Facebook's decision to expand in this area. The <i>New York Times</i> discusses <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/technology/21email.html?_r=2&ref=business"><b>the decline of email</b></a> in Gen Y, citing that the younger generation simply doesn't use email as much as they use IM and texting.<br />
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In November, Facebook announced the evolution of its messaging system and in a Fast Company article, <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/1702887/facebook-messages-andrew-bosworth-joel-seligstein-mark-zuckerberg"><b>Zuckerberg noted his inspiration</b></a> for deciding on the software that would shape the communications style of whole generations:<br />
<blockquote>"Whenever I get a chance to talk to high schoolers, I always want to ask them what kind of software they're using... So I asked them: What do you use for email? [And they answered,] 'Some of us use Gmail. Some of us use Yahoo. But we don’t really use email.' And I said, 'What do you mean you don’t use email? Everyone uses email.’ And they said, 'No. It’s too slow.'"</blockquote><br />
Using high schoolers as a focus group for the future of a multi-billion dollar company? While I understand that they're on the cutting edge of what's next and that they'll be the users of the future, my traditional self cringes a little about the notion of basing your success on the tastes and proclivities of such a young generation. Particularly when they have yet to fully grasp the habit of good writing, functional grammar, and the ability to fully express their thoughts.<br />
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My concern arises from this kicker from the Fast Company article: <br />
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<blockquote>The teens told Zuckerberg it was <b><i>too much trouble</i></b> to think of a subject and to compose a formal message.</blockquote><br />
Too much trouble to think of even a subject line? I weep for the future.<br />
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<i>--</i><br />
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</i>

Facebook - at the Center of Your Messaging Life

Well, it's finally here. After Facebook announced that they'd have an email solution that's not email , they've rolled it o...

Too. Many. Channels.

A little Friday fun. You'd think it would be easier to keep in touch with your contacts these days thanks to the many ways we have to communicate. Phone, email, texting , IM, Twitter @replies and DMs, Facebook messages - and let's not forget about good old fashioned <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2010/06/10-homage.html">written notes</a>.<br />
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But somehow, we've made it more complicated. Everyone has his or her own preference of how they're predisposed to communicate and be contacted, and it's a challenge, to say the least, to manage all of these channels and keep a mental Rolodex of preferences. Is there a solution? I don't know. But <a href="http://smigly.tv/">Allen Mezquida</a> shared <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMIFBnYmMuU">his latest Smigly animation</a> with me, and it captures it well.<br />
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<i>Warning: there may be some offensive language in the video</i><br />
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<center><object height="306" width="499"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oMIFBnYmMuU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oMIFBnYmMuU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="499" height="306"></embed></object></center><br />
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Do you have a solution? Or do you just muddle along like Smigly above?<br />
--

Too. Many. Channels.

A little Friday fun. You'd think it would be easier to keep in touch with your contacts these days thanks to the many ways we have to co...

The Importance of Logos

The guys at <a href="http://www.idesignyourlogo.com/">I Design Your Logo</a> (<a href="http://twitter.com/idesignyourlogo">@idesignyourlogo</a>) contacted me with an idea. They decided they'd like to highlight my site as part of their ongoing work - where they create a number of logos for sites and then let the community decide which they prefer.<br />
<br />
I've never really had a logo for my site before, so I gave them some feedback and they came up with designs. And today, <a href="http://idesignyourlogo.com/2011/01/the-social-media-marketing-blog/"><b>they're running two logos over on their website</b></a>. Click through to vote for your favorite.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc0XCEmSXI/AAAAAAAACGM/Lujwp9rRVTM/s1600/scottmontydotcom.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc0XCEmSXI/AAAAAAAACGM/Lujwp9rRVTM/s400/scottmontydotcom.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I would be honored if you would take a moment to participate in this process. After all, as a reader, this decision impacts you.<br />
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This is a great example of a way a business is doing crowdsourcing in an intelligent way. It's easy to just turn over the creative reins to your community, but experience shows that doing so in an unstructured way or with little guidance or input, the results can be anything but successful. An example that comes to mind is the car that "everyman" Homer Simpson designed in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Brother,_Where_Art_Thou%3F">Season 2 of The Simpsons</a>:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc3Xny_isI/AAAAAAAACGY/7Wh3DBf37SI/s1600/HomerMobile.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc3Xny_isI/AAAAAAAACGY/7Wh3DBf37SI/s400/HomerMobile.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Crowdsourcing gone wrong</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Of course, the opposite is true as well: Gap suffered last year when they <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marka-hansen/the-gaps-new-logo_b_754981.html">unilaterally redesigned their logo</a>. The response was swift and brutal. Customers did not like it one bit and vehemently objected to it. The result is that Gap rescinded their decision. Currently, there's a question out there about <a href="http://blogs.forbes.com/elainewong/2011/01/06/starbucks-logo-change-likely-to-follow-in-the-footsteps-of-gap/">Starbucks' decision to rebrand its logo</a> and whether it will follow in Gap's footsteps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc2RI8offI/AAAAAAAACGU/QqWb8LAwi3I/s1600/Gap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc2RI8offI/AAAAAAAACGU/QqWb8LAwi3I/s200/Gap.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc49_ZATqI/AAAAAAAACGg/UOk0KoPgQVU/s1600/Starbuckslogo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wgi7DTsDt2g/TSc49_ZATqI/AAAAAAAACGg/UOk0KoPgQVU/s1600/Starbuckslogo.PNG" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">  </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">  </div><br />
Ultimately, a logo speaks volumes ("a picture is worth a thousand words") about a brand, but it's only one factor. How important do you think a logo is an the overall branding process, and how can a much-loved brand take steps to update its logo when the times call for it?

The Importance of Logos

The guys at I Design Your Logo ( @idesignyourlogo ) contacted me with an idea. They decided they'd like to highlight my site as part of...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor

Facebook - at the Center of Your Messaging Life

Too. Many. Channels.

The Importance of Logos

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