eBiz Tomorrow by Chris Salazar

I’ve got and I’ve found it…rather I’ve found the person who have surpassed me by a great deal! Someone who is my age and has already done so much with social media in both his personal and professional life…Dan Schawbel.  His main focus is BRAND…and he recently gave his predictions for Personal Branding in 2008

In the light of the new year coming and my attempt to add value to Dan’s contributions, here are my own predictions for 2008’s world of Social Media:

• Corporations will move past “community” and work to create CUSTOMER UTILITY
  • Yes, corporations should concentrate on providing their customers with a service; whether that be an interactive knowledge base, variety of web 2.0 product interfaces, or a network of online consultants available around the clock
  • Everyone is creating a community, but investing in the customer is important. Common questions to ask: What can they actually use? What’s missing in my industry? Why should customers invest their time with my company?
• Users will challenge corporations to become transparent and real
  • Open-communication is not enough; every leading corporation will have 2 faces (the CEO and the Community guy)
• Job openings in social media will explode - will we see CCOs (Chief Community Officers)?
  • We’ll have two versions of the story, two different types of Press Conferences. One will be on TV and in front of reports, the second will be on a blog “translating” into real terms what’s going on. Nowadays, CEO’s messages are lost in translation…its the CCOs job to keep it real.
• Blogging and Facebook will lose its value and utility
  • I’ve seen it with Facebook already, I’ve been bombarded with way too much SPAM and I’ve lost interest in it. I see other profiles, who I used to frequently visit, and they are filled with so much extra stuff that makes it look like one big blob of junk.
  • Blogging…people are trying to make a living through their personal blog? Too many adwords, too many attempts to make a $1, too many people why to become e-famous. What happened to true, passionate blogging for the love of writing and sharing one’s ideas?

What are your predictions for 2008? Am I on the right track or do you have some objection?

Many of us understand and realize that social media is powerful for individuals and businesses. However, there’s a vast majority out there who either disagree or are too old fashioned. Unless you work for a young company, those people are probably your boss.So, I want to start my own community marketing program at my company…how do I do it? Fortunately, I was privileged to follow under the footsteps of Jeremiah, who introduced social media to HDS; we have forums, a wiki, and a few bloggers. Yet, it was far from easy…but I learned from him.

Still its very hard work, so I look up to experts for advice and I came across an interesting article that really sums up how to start one. Only one catch, this article tells how to start one if others in your industry are catching on too…nonetheless, i cant argue with his findings.

I started off this blog with the intention to summarize someone’s thoughts, but instead I’m pushing myself…I’ll give you my advice from what Ive learned.

Here goes…

“In order to sell social media to your boss you must…”

CREATE A NEED

Bosses are busy people…in and out of meetings and/or working on bigger/better things; which is they have no time to waste on worthless projects. So…make social media a NEED, not a want. Make him/her say “We need to have blogs.” Social media is a utility that every company should and needs to somehow get their hands on.

Sounds easy right? But, how do you create this need? Here’s a few ways:

• Show ROI and Success with SEO- One word: proactive. The success of the social media program is in your hands; if you’re not proactive, you will not be able to see ROI. I read about how to show to your bosses that this ‘new media’ program is worth it’s weight, but its missing one important aspect…SEO
  • SEO - Search Engine Optimization is something that every company should be worried about, yet are they? Whether or not its in your scope, SEO can be accomplished by social media (forums, blogs, wikis, etc). Smart and active blogs have the ability to: come up early in search engines, produce incoming/outgoing links, and store a collection of thoughts and information. All of this helps SEO tremendously.
    • Example #1: Everyone knows about the whole DELL SUPPORT finding. When you search “Dell Support” in Google, scroll down, what do you see on the first page? …a link to Jeremy Zawodny’s post: What the F*** is with Dell Technical Support?
    • Enough said, this shows the power of blogging, especially with SEO. (I think before it came up a lot sooner, maybe 3rd or 4th in the search results). How much did it cost? NOTHING, FREE.
  • How much WORK does it take? - Aside from initially setting up the blog, which could take 5-8 hours total for branding, back-end work, etc…it depends on your strategy (which could range from 2-10 hours per week). I recommend blogging 3 times a week to keep your audience interested and subscribed.
    • Each blog takes 2 hours max, blog 3 times a week, that is 6 hours per week
    • 6 hours per week times 4 weeks = 24 hours per month
    • This is all the time you need…if done correctly, your company can use the 24 hours of time to benefit the overall SEO strategy.
    • Example #2: Type in “storage bloggers”…what is the first search result? The storage wiki (referenced above) that Jeremiah started. It might have cost something, but definitely not as much as paid search.

• Illustrate how your company can benefit from “human” contact - one of the most valuable rewards from a community marketing program is the human contact. 10 years ago, this sort of communication was unheard of, but now its part of our life in and out of work. Human contact sparks relationship marketing and relationships build trust. Trust in every business activity is very important and difficult to achieve. Social Media is the hub for open communication and a new way of “marketing”
  • Social Media allows for all types of communication - prospects to prospects, prospects to customers, customers to customers. More importantly, this is all happening in YOUR space…you can listen and participate openly and freely.
  • Can be used as a sales tool - bloggers should be subject experts and because of this, the sales force can use it to their advantage.
    

    “Our product has XXX and it can be integrated with XXX solution, which is why we are the leaders in our industry. For more info, you can see XXX blog post on this…”

This list will continue to grow as I learn more about these new mediums.

Also, I’ve left out some important parts…but now its your turn!

The Washington Post reported that the Defense Department has blocked soldiers’ internet access to a total of 13 sites, including MySpace and YouTube. Why? Fear that these sites will take up too much bandwidth.

Let’s look at these implications for a moment. By blocking access to MySpace/YouTube, they are pushed away even more from the rest of the world. They are out there fighting for their country, why not give them some free time?

Let’s examine more closely what MySpace brings to the table, that no other site does:

MySpace Benefactors:

• Allows open communication around the world
• Provides a 24/7 anywhere-accessible platform for the following:
  • To keep in touch with family members
  • Meet new people
  • Rekindle lost friendships
  • Exhibit creativity in creating a unique L&F
• Access to current, top 100, and underground music in just about any genre
• Ability to upload video files for the world to watch

Why keep soldiers away?  It’s shocking to see this.

It’s amazing, how MySpace has managed to reach several different audiences.  Although, what’s Facebook’s response?  Why doesn’t facebook create a section for those in war?

Today’s life of constant give and take redefines the “user/consumer” role in business. Think about how business in general has evolved–several hundreds of years ago, it was the job of the engineers/managers to decide what is made. Slowly, the “market” decided how businesses work. But that’s not enough. Within every market, there’s individual micro-communities with very unique needs.

Fast forward to the “user-generated media” era of today. The keyword word here is “user” …we’re users create media. This means we’re in charge of what we see, do, and have. In a way, the market is for the people and run by the people; which is the beauty of social media.

However, we’re moving past this idea quickly. B/c not only are we just created or generating media, but we are consuming it at an increasing rate. From blogs to podcasts to vlogs we are consuming tons of content each day. No longer do we just use data, we consume, learn, store, and express ideas. It’s important how the roles are shifting here and businesses must take note of this.

The life of a consumer:

• Social Bookmarking: Tools like delicious make it easy for users to consume information at any time of the day no matter where they are (at home, work, or from their mobile device). Not to mention, you can share your delicious links with other users using tags. Again, we aren’t just creating content, we are consuming it and making it easy for others to consume as well. Its quick, fast, easy, and non-techy. It’s social bookmarking, NOT technical bookmarking.
• RSS Feeds: Similar to bookmarking, RSS feeds can be read through a feedreader, like Google feedreader. Today we want instantaneous updates on the fly! Feedreaders bring all of that to you. Subscribe to an RSS feed, keep it stored, visit the link in the future. Consuming information from multiple sources is easy and quick!
• Social Networking: Everyone is involved with this…whether it be MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, or online dating sites (match.com). Everyone has an account! Again, the easy factor comes into play here…plus all of these tools provide users with the opportunity to consume candid information from their family, peers, or even people of the same interests around the world.
• Blogs: Plain and simple, blogs drive social media. The majority of the tools I mentioned above all grab content from blogs or some sort of repository for information. First, being able to store information/thoughts in one place is great, but sharing it with the world at large is remarkable. Im contributing to the world…im offering my own candid thoughts for others to consume.

There are several other components that drive the lives of consumers and as technology moves forward so will the tools. For now, its important to understand why this is so important.

Consumers are engaging with their peers, neighborhoods, and the world. Before social media, we only had school, work, and clubs to engage with others locally. But, the conversation has moved globally now.

Although, how can we measure the effectiveness of these tools? Here’s what I think:

• Word of Mouth
• Increase in the number of users
• Comments/User Feedback
• Innovation of new tools for users
• What’s missing?

I’m positive measuring the effectiveness of a community marketing program will always be difficult.  But, hey, at least it gives us something to talk about.  I’m curious as to what other strategies are for measuring if your community program is engaging enough?

Jason Calacanis has a lot of harsh feelings towards Facebook! He’s really missed the point of Facebook, its about online communication, aggregating widgets that mean something to you, poking each other, and writing on 10 million walls a day. If you’re not up for this, then Facebook is NOT for you.

He almost seems anti-social! He doesn’t want to see what movies I like and recommend, he doesn’t care about comments/messages you send him, and he doesn’t care about joining groups (even if they are for good causes). He argues that we aren’t going to save anything with creating a group…which is wrong! That’s only the first step and social networking is making it easier to get people around the world involved with the same mission.

Most likely, he’s just fed up with social networking in general…since there’s so much news out there, especially on techmeme. But, that’s what feed readers are for…filter out all the redundant stuff.

All of the reasons Jason hates facebook are all of the reasons why I like it! Why is this? Is it a generation gap? What’s going on here?

Time will answer these questions, but here’s my prediction:

Facebook will change how we receive news (especially on mobile devices). Facebook will become the next feedreader…it will become a one-stop shop for everyone! Finally, it will surpass MySpace as the most valuable social networking site in the WWW.

WORD OF ADVICE: Jason, you can remove those widgets from your facebook so you don’t see what movies they recommend…it might help!

UNRELATED NOTE: He is also a 5th degree black belt in TKD…Jason I do TKD as well. Let’s chat sometime!

Others who are joining the conversation:

• Robert Scoble
• Rexblog.com
• A VC
• The Messaging Times

Disclaimer:  My good friend Michael Sykora sent me the link to this article.  Ironically, we are part of the younger generation, but he sent it through Yahoo Mail.  But, I’ll tell you why later…keep reading.

Yes, email is for old people!  Why though?  Not because its prehistoric (laugh), but rather times have changed.  The new (younger) generations revert to other forms of communication in place of the rather old email apps.  Some say the future of email can be found in MySpace and Facebook, while others say its text message, but truth is it will always be changing.  Today its text, tomorrow its MySpace, next month its Virtual IM.  It’s difficult to keep up…but it shouldn’t be.

Stop trying to catch up and instead figure out why things are changing so fast.  I admit, I use email just for work too, and revert to text messaging instead.  1000 text messages isn’t enough for me, I need unlimited texts.  Why though? It’s because things today are FAST paced, I can’t take the time to open up my computer and send an email asking “what are we doing tonight?”  A simple text is easier, faster, quicker, and more efficient.

MySpace and Facebook take time too, but everyone is on it!  Which means, I constantly get emails/messages from each and a reply is just a click away.  Plus they both have handy mobile alerts letting me know when someone has messaged me…does Yahoo?  Not sure, if they do, they haven’t done a good job marketing it.  Cell phones and social networking are key to today’s lifestyle, which brings me to my next point:  stop creating one-offs, instead create something that links everything together!

Here’s how you can keep up with us:

• build something that aggregates everything into one (myspace, facebook, email, news, etc) - one giant feedreader
• make it interactive and fun - engage us, we get bored easily
• make it accessible from mobile devices - we’re using our phones already, why not join us
• make it easy

Here’s what I only use email for:

• Business related messages - hence why my friend sent me this article through yahoo and not on facebook/myspace
• To talk with professional people who are not part of my “social” circle (people from work, ex bosses, family friends)
• Older people who don’t get it  *wink*  *smile* (just those who dont have myspace/facebook or a texting plan)

I’m excited to be part of this time when things are changing so fast.  The way we receive information is different from how it was 20 years ago, and it will continue to change.  I love it!

For some reason I never thought I would hear the words “passed away” or “death” and social media in the same sentence. Ha, I was wrong! It turns out, social media is not just for the living, but also for those who have died.

Respectance, a social networking site that keeps the memories alive, has found a way to help loved ones who have lost someone. What’s the most difficult thing about losing someone? Is remembering all the GREAT things you did together. Here’s your chance to keep the memories alive!

You can explore tributes, photos, members, videos…all kinds of stuff…

According to Venture Beat, they just received$1.5 million in funding! I’m completely down for using this as a way to keep photos and tributes, but to browse other people who have died…I’m not too sure. Although some have said it might make it easier to heal…it might be a little freaky at the same time!

Other interesting opinions about Respectance:

• Some call it emo-social media
• Mashable is a fan of the social network for the dead
• Blognation says this is for people to “heal and share memories of their loved ones, while finding others with similar experiences“

A good idea? YES, definitely. But, how will it withstand? Who knows. But, what do you think?

Social Media has taken the world by storm, especially with the myspace and facebook phenomenons. But these are companies that were made to thrive in Social Media. Knowing this, how have the traditional companies (who’ve been around for years) been impacted? What’s their future in social media?

The graph below illustrates how often each brand is “mentioned” in some of the top social mediums…

(source)

Of course, Google, Yahoo, Apple and Microsoft are really no surprise. These brands are predominately mentioned in the blogosphere and on delicious. Yet, what’s most surprising? What’s most notable? Here’s my take:

Canon: YouTube drives most of the conversation for Canon, which is expected with around 42,000 search results. Although most of these are irrelevant, new product demos like this one, instructional videos, and canon interviews, really benefit the Canon’s brand. From brand awareness to bad press, users utilize YouTube to 1) show off their new camera, 2) give advice to others on how to take care of a camera, 3) or general talk about overall experiences.

What should Canon do? It’s definitely been noted that Canon can thrive in the blogosphere by using social media to their benefit (other users have already started: canon blog, user#1 blog, and user#2 blog). But, where’s Canon’s corporate blog?

A corporate blog will help Canon:

• Embrace the thriving social media culture that has already begun
• Strengthen their brand presence + build trust
• Acknowledge and join the “new” community
• See first hand how their rate amongst users

Amazon.com: Looks like delicious is the leader for all Amazon.com mentions in social media. With 170,000 mentions its easy to see why, as the majority of the listings are coupons/deal offers.

Notably, the first search result is S3 (online storage). What’s going to happen with the online storage industry? It will become cheaper…cheaper to store information, cheaper to use information, and cheaper to view information.

Jeremiah suggested that users will be paid to upload data…not in cash though.

It’s probable users will receive cash returns, but highly unlikely; instead, users will receive “credits.” Towards what? Social Media tools..like widgets/gifts for facebook, discount coupons to companies like Amazon, or even promotions (free one month web hosting, etc). To say users will be paid to upload data is not false…its misleading. Especially since no premium will be paid and its likely companies will use it as another marketing/sales gimmick to get people using the “made” money towards something else.

My questions is: how will companies validate that the info you enter is correct?

Disney: Like Canon, YouTube drives a lot of the online conversation for Disney. However, it may not be as beneficial.

Disadvantages of YouTube:

• Copyright issues - you can’t stop it
• The Disney audience is children…they shouldn’t be on YouTube
• Can’t control users (parody videos, porn Disney, etc)

Advantages of YouTube:

• Free viral marketing - things spread fast
• It’s easy and accessible
• Generates hype, interest, and creativity

YouTube isn’t a bad thing for Disney, but by all means they should not rely on it. Instead take this as a sign that Disney is in the Top 10 of all online mentions along with eBay, Google, and Microsoft. That’s a big deal…and there’s a tremendous amount of potential for social media. From blogs to virtual 2.0 worlds…users want it thats a given…and the stats just reaffirms that.

All in all, this is an excellent report on how brands are influenced by social media alone. It’s amazing actually, since most of social media costs very little (if not free), compared to traditional advertising and marketing. What will these companies do? Time will tell, but it will not be a smart move to ignore the “new” internet.

Picture taken from the Community Next Viral Conference in Sunnyvale (thanks to Jeremiah’s flickr). By the way…I had trouble finding the address to this place!

Got a chance to meet some new friends and learn a few things about viral marketing as well considering MySpace, RockYou, PBWiki + others gave some good advice. I wonder who won the iPhone…their task was to find the 5 people at the conference who were infected! I asked Jeremiah if he was infected, he said no, so I gave up!

Jason Feffer, user #4 to sign up for MySpace and one of the originators, provided a good recap of the history of viral marketing. He insists that MySpace is a great example of a successful viral campaign and he’s right.

One of his main points is to control your brand and become a utility. MySpace had several opportunities cross their path before they hit the big time, but they picked them wisely. For example, MySpace was approached with an opportunity to market their company in front of a thousand plus crowd in Las Vegas for free, but they turned it down! Why? B/c they dont want their name associated with other parties/events/services that is not hosted by them. Which makes sense, but if they did take that opportunity, where would MySpace be now? Probably as successful!

He used the word “infected” a lot! Even went so far to say that bad WOM brings in new users because it infects them! AND…WOM spreads faster when you’ve got a bad product…hm, maybe thats the way to go. Release a bad product, then BAM, release the new/good product.

Jia and Ben from RockYou had some interesting thoughts about widgets. They’re focused on self express widgets for individuals. This is important because the users keep the viral moving. More interesting, they introduced 3 simple words: simple, easy, and utility…or what I like to call SEU. I’ll explore the implications of this a bit more soon.

These are just some highlights of what I learned, more will come later. Overall, this conference was enjoyable and Im looking forward to future events. Whats next?

Social media, or Social Business has really been on my mind lately. Not because its a hot topic now-a-days, or because its buzzy…but I don’t feel like Businesses (overall) are really benefiting for the “social” side. Don’t get me wrong, becoming a social business can help, but it takes more work than just launching a blog/forum.  This post will first define terms like society, talk about common themes, and provide some incite on how to start a successful program.

First, let’s take a look at some key terms: Society, Social, Networking, and Business. (I’m trying to figure out how these can compliment each other) …I got these definitions from Dictionary.com (which uses the American Heritage Dictionary too):

• Society: a body of individuals living as members of a community
• Social: living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups
• Networking: a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest
• Business: the occupation, work, or trade in which a person is engaged

All of these definitions involve people - like you - which make up society, networking, and business. This is not new information and does not come at a surprise, but in a lot of businesses today there’s still some missing links. Several other pieces to the puzzle must come together to successfully intertwine business and community.

The next common denominator in the definitions above is community. Again, not a surprise, but its a bit more complicated than just community. Simply finding a community, creating tools, and expecting them to embrace it is NOT enough. If I were to start my own community, I’d take these steps:

1. Define my community, including all sub-communities and groups.
2. Live/Engage with my community - wear their clothes, eat their food, talk/eat with them, think like them, and go to their events.
3. Research what’s missing - why they need it - how they should access it
4. Welcome the community to help you build their tools - especially with (beta testing)
5. Encourage feedback - they are your customers, do what they say (but with your unique twists)
6. Reach out to the community and business world - let them know you’re out there, build trust, build relationships, build a support system, and build a community
7. Find a sponsor - someone who benefits from your tool, but has a presence in your community. Make them your success story - brag about them and they’ll brag about you

Understand that your community program is living, it’s growing each and everyday. As more and more users engage themselves, the community grows and the support system grows…but keep this focused with your company, strategy, and competition. What else is happening in your market? Incorporate that too into your program.

Be the leader, be the innovator. This is not about being first, its more than that. It’s about staying on top of competition by moving ahead of the industry and anticipating your user’s/community’s next moves. This is why living their life and knowing your customer inside and out is vital. Evolve with the users as they evolve with the world.

This is WHY businesses are not captivating and reaping the rewards of a community marketing program. Deploying tools is not enough, there’s several months worth of research and planning that need to take place before hand. It’s okay if competition rolled their stuff out, your’s will be better!

If you’ve started a community marketing program (like Jeremiah Owyang), or are currently managing one (like Mario Sundar, Robyn Tippins), please let me know how you’ve done it! I want to know from YOU, the expert!