Who needs mash-ups when you can create you own style of music video based on something already popular?
Whether you're a child of the eighties or not, A-ha's video for the song, 'Take On Me', is widely regarded as one of the pop music videos that helped pushed the genre forward and gave it some semblance of legitimacy as an art form.
The world changes. Technology changes. People get creative. YouTube lets anyone (and everyone) become their own little MTV.
Check out this re-done version of the song 'Take On Me' in "literal" form. It's funny. It's irreverent, but more importantly, it demonstrates the power of creativity in the face of knowing that it will only appeal to very small and select niche.
Would you mind if this Blog post was deleted? Would you mind if your comments were deleted? Would you mind if your comments were never published?
New world. New publishing. New rules.
Rules.
"Rules were meant to be broken."
"It's way too early for there to be any 'rules.'"
"There are certain rules that should never be broken."
You've probably heard one or all of those lines when it comes to Blogging. There are those that feel that there are some very clear rules when it comes to Blogging.
These include:
- Never delete a post.
- Never delete a comment.
- Always post a comment from a reader.
- Respond to every comment.
- Always link appropriately.
Then there are those Bloggers who think differently. The overall sentiment is: "my house, my rules... if you don't like them, I'm going to take my ball and go home." They work by their own set of rules.
These include:
- Not enabling comments.
- Never responding in the comment section (but letting everybody else comment at will).
- Deleting comments that they don't agree with.
- Closing comments if things don't go their way.
- Not linking out to sources or inspiration.
Some days it makes sense to follow the rules. Some days, having your own set of rules is equally acceptable.
How would you feel if a Blog post was deleted? How would you feel if your comment was deleted? How would you feel if your comment was never posted in the first place?
Welcome to episode #124 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast. Huge episode full of high-brow Marketing talk. Don't let that scare you. Listen to Mike Kujawski talk about Government and Government 2.0. There are some great insights for anybody and everybody interested in Marketing, Communications and Advertising. C.C. Chapman makes his grand return with a killer Six Pounds of Sound and there is tons more. Give it a listen. Enjoy the conversation...
Please join the conversation by sending in questions, feedback and ways to improve Six Pixels Of Separation. Please let me know what you think or leave an audio comment at: +1 206-666-6056.
Here is Pixelated - Your New Business Virtual Conference. In this full-day online conference, you will get an overview of how business is changing. You'll hear from educators, marketers, authors, technicians and business leaders. You will be inspired, educated and motivated to think differently about your business and how to grow it... all from the comfort of your own computer.
No travel. No airport line-ups. No hotels. No fees. No hidden fees. Just brilliant insights to spark your imagination and push your business forward.
Only 7% of customers who had a problem while conducting an online transaction shared their experience on a Blog or online social network.
Admit it, you thought it would be higher.
According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive for Tealeaf Technology in August 200 called, 2008 Online Transactions, it turns out that people complain a lot more in person (74%) or while on the phone with family and friends (50%) compared to leaving a rating or review on a Website (16%), an online message board (8%) or a Blog or online social network (7% - which also happens to be the lowest ranked).
This falls in line with a stat that Brett Hurt from Bazaarvoice shared with Six Pixels of Separation a ways back: out of the over ten billion peer reviews that Bazaarvoice has served, the average rating is 4.5/5.
All in all, it's still a little surprising how low these numbers seem. One of the bigger chants for Social Media revolves around a brands ability to listen to the conversation (and, how everybody is in on the conversation). While it's never good if 7% of your consumer base is complaining on Blogs and in online social networks, it's still not a huge percentage. Granted, the long tail of content is not great for a brand either. If someone complains in person, that complaint might get forwarded around via word of mouth, but has little impact when compared to a serious high ranking in the search results of your favourite search engines (as is the case when someone Blogs about it).
Putting it in writing and online gives the complaint a permanent digital legacy (one that has an ongoing conversation around it).
So, while the percentage may be significantly lower than telling someone in person, the effects of the online complaint probably have a much more dire long-term and overall negative brand effect.
People complain when they feel like their issue has not been resolved or when they are not being understood by the brand. Enabling and empowering them to review and rate products and services provides a more transparent platform for people to be heard... and they like it. On the other hand, it provides an amazing feedback process for the brand. Nothing will whip a brand into shape faster than negative feedback (hopefully).
The challenge is that this all so very new and the percentage of use from above demonstrates that. It doesn't mean it's not serious. It doesn't mean to ignore it. It just means that it's a new channel and overall usage will likely increase as the months and years roll on.
Now it's your turn: do you take your sour grapes online?
65% of Chief Marketing Officers and marketing executives said that because of the troubled economy more of their money will go toward digital/interactive marketing than before.
In the same breath, 59% reported a decrease in their traditional advertising spend.
“In this economic climate, marketing executives are seeking accountability and measurable results,” said Mike Iaccarino, CEO of Epsilon. "Data-driven marketing is an increasingly important component of corporate marketing campaigns as senior marketers employ sophisticated segmentation strategies to recruit and retain customers.”
When General Motors made the announcement earlier in the year that they would be shifting half of their three billion dollar advertising budget online, many advertising pundits felt it was an act of trying to get "more bang for the buck." When, in reality, GM had done their homework and learned that people were now making the final purchase decision for an automobile online. To further validate this, a senior Ford marketing executive recently told me that they don't call them "test drives" anymore. They're called "confirmation drives." More and more people are going well beyond basic online research when looking at purchasing a new vehicle.
Reading posts on the economy and how it will affect marketing is almost as depressing as watching Wall Street. Digital Marketing could well be one of the main industries that will benefit from this downturn, and when things turnaround (they always do), we can all be hopeful that Digital Marketing will lead the brand and advertising strategy. While Iaccarino from Epsilon points to "accountability and measurable results" as the driving force, Marketers tend to be into trying newer channels as well - perhaps in hopes of finding more ROI.
More from the CMO Survey:
- Social computing (including word of mouth, social networking sites, viral advertising, etc.) was the most popular emerging channel with 42% of marketing executives expressing interest in adding it to their marketing mix.
- Blogs were the second-most-popular emerging channel, with 35% of marketers expressing desire to use them and 19% already using them.
- Almost one-third of CMOs mentioned podcasting as an area of interest, with 31% interested in adding it to their marketing mix and 18% already having done so.
- 29% are interested in Mobile Devices (phones/PDAs) and 22% have added them to their marketing mix.
Overall, it's a silver lining for a very dark cloud cluster... one that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon (bailout or not).
Here's the bigger question:
If advertising dollars do shift to the Digital Marketing channel, do you think that it will stay that way when the economy turns around?
"93% of online Americans say companies should have a social media presence and 85% believe these companies also should be interacting with consumers through social media."
Companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%).
Companies should solicit feedback on their products and services (41%).
Companies should develop new ways for consumers to interact with their brand (37%).
Companies should market to consumers (25%).
Overall, this report gives a healthy thumb's up to Social Media and how it works with Marketing:
“All of this is great news for marketers,” said Mike Hollywood, director of new media for Cone. “Men and younger consumers are traditionally the most challenging to reach, while the highest-income households are typically very desirable; here they are saying ‘come market to us and interact with us online.’ This is really a license to put more energy and resources into this medium and do it effectively.”
That comment was based on some of these findings:
60% of Americans interact with companies using social media (one in four interact more than once per week).
56% feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they interact via social media.
One-third of younger, hard-to-reach consumers (age 18-34) believe that companies should actively market to them via social networks.
Cone is a "strategy and communications agency engaged in building brand trust" and is part of the Omnicon Group. And the survey was "conducted September 11-12, 2008 by Opinion Research Corporation among 1,092 adults comprising 525 men and 567 women 18 years of age and older."
The most common question you get about online social networks like Facebook is: why should I add this person?
Maybe you hardly know them, maybe it's somebody you used to work with, maybe it's someone from high school that you have not seen in over a decade, or maybe it's someone you know, but are not all that interested in connecting with.
The bigger question you need to ask yourself is about what you're using these online social networks for in the first place. If it's purely a way to stay in touch with family and friends, then it has to stay pure and real for you. If it has the slightest whiff of self-promotion, to network, grow your business, etc... then ask yourself a bigger question:
What do I want to get out of this experience, and how does being a part of this online social network add value and help me accomplish this goal?
Let's run with the notion that you're a member of spaces like Facebook and MySpace to nurture your personal brand, connect and grow your business.
Maybe the question isn't, "why should I add this person?" but rather, "who is their network and can it add value to my experience online?"
No doubt we tend to look out for number one and our egos get in the way, but before you hit the "ignore" button on that friend request, don't worry so much about what they'll see about you or why they want to connect, and focus (for just a second) on who they are connected to, what their network is like and if there is any value-add for you there.
Being connected for the simple sake of being connected might have little value (unless you use these channels as a media platform to "get the word out there"), so you do need to scrutinize (to some degree) what you want your network to be. Like everyone else, different online social networks call for different levels of engagement, but more often than not, we tend to ask "why should I?" instead of "why wouldn't I?"
The good news is that if you add someone and they abuse that privilege, you can always boot them from your network.
And, they can do the same to you.
Any chance that this changes your attitude on how you conduct yourself online?
Many people fear that print is dying. The statistics don't help the situation and the new technology looks promising.
Did you happen to see the issue of Esquire Magazine featuring electronic ink? It looked more like a tiny led display, than electronic ink, and while it came off as impressive on YouTube demos, in person you could feel where they were packing the technology on the page and the whole thing just seemed a little "too much, too soon." We've seen this with technology before: the idea is solid, the public is ready for it, but the technology just isn't ready for prime time. Cost, production and execution are still in their primitive form.
When it comes to reading books, things have moved along quite nicely this past year. There's still hype over the Sony Reader Digital Book, and who wouldn't want to get their grubby little hands on the Amazon Kindle? Both look great and could well give reading new legs.
At Demo 2008, a company called, Plastic Logic, demoed their latest digital reader that is specifically geared for business reading. If you thought you were confused over going Kindle or Sony, watch this video:
The power of technology is its ability to inspire. That video demo is inspiring. Whether or not Plastic Logic comes out on top of the digital reading pile remains to be seen, but you can rest assured that a demo like that will inspire many other companies to look at new ways to use this kind of technology.
Do you love going into bookstores and browsing as much as I do? The sad thing is, I used to feel the same way about music stores. Now, I could not be bothered to go into those. Let's be hopeful that the addition of digital readers will be a "with" not "instead of" model in the future of publishing and bookstores.
In the meantime, what do you think?... how are you going to read in the future?
Welcome to episode #123 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast. This could well be one of the best conversation about the Internet, culture and Marketing that there has been on this Podcast. Initially, I was anticipating a quick fifteen minute conversation with registered Wikipedia Editor and author of Wikipedia - The Missing Manual, John Broughton. Instead, what follows is over 35 minutes of conversation all about Wikipedia - the good, the bad, the ugly and the gorgeous, plus what every Marketer and Communications professional needs to know about this brilliant example of the Wisdom of Crowds and open source knowledge. Enjoy the conversation...
Please join the conversation by sending in questions, feedback and ways to improve Six Pixels Of Separation. Please let me know what you think or leave an audio comment at: +1 206-666-6056.
The world is changing faster than we can imagine. Students who enrolled in university today have different expectations from those that are graduating this year.
Fascinating statistics out of Amherst College, in western Massachusetts. These stats were cherry-picked from a bigger list available at Academic Commons in the post, IT Index. The school enrolled 438 first year students this fall and has a total student population of over 1600.
It's painfully obvious that the workplace is not ready for these types of graduates. If you think blocking Facebook and access to YouTube is going to increase productivity, take a look at how these future employees work and what their expectations are/will be...
8 Reasons Why We're Not Prepared For The Future:
1. Percentage of applicants who applied online last year: 89%.
2. Students in the class of 2012 who registered computers, iPhones, game consoles, etc. on the campus network by the end of the day on August 24th, the day they moved into their dorm rooms: 370 students registered 443 devices.
3. Number of students in the class of 2012 who brought desktop computers to campus: 14.
4. Number that brought iPhones/iTouches: 93.
5. Total number of students on campus this year that have landline phone service: 5.
6. Mac or PC? Of the four classes currently on campus the classes of 2009 and 2010 are more likely to own Windows, while the classes of 2011 and 2012 are more likely to own Macs.
7. Average number of emails received per day: 180,000.
8. Percentage of email that arrives on campus that is spam: 94%.
If you don't see the link between your business, what you're doing online and what you're doing in the mobile space, you're going to be in for a huge surprise in the next 3-6 years. Students entering the workforce clearly see having a laptop as being "tethered". We're going mobile... and it's happening fast.
What do you think business must do today to connect to their future employees?
It's getting harder and harder to define the friends from the foes in these social circles. People are starting to choose wisely instead of widely.
It's getting beyond information overload. The slew of invites from the myriad of social spaces increases as the days and new applications wane on. If you've been following this Six Pixels of Separation Blog, you might remember a Blog posting titled, Mass Media or Mass Content - What's Worse? We're quickly getting to the point where even adding more individual people to our social spaces is not so cut and dry.
Sure, there are those who will either add anybody and everybody, and then there's the other side where people do not add anyone unless they have met them in person (or actually like them). In the middle of those extremes are probably people more like you and I. We love connecting with those we know, but are equally excited to meet and explore the possibilities of making a new connection.
Some people are using these channels for the sole purpose of personal gain. And while there's nothing wrong with that, they probably have no idea how much it is affecting their opportunity to really meet new people and grow their business and personal brand even more effectively.
In the spirit of this thought, here are:
6 Reasons Why We Can't Be Friends:
1. Trying too hard to sell something -"buy now" or "special offer". Realize that whenever someone checks out an invite from you and those are the primary messages they see (be it on Twitter, on your Blog or the website where your Blog is linked to), they're usually going to be suspicious and think that they're not connecting to an individual but rather some MLM pyramid scene (multi-level marketing). You invited someone to connect on a personal level, the first impression should not come off like an Amway meeting.
2. Usernames, bio, photos and links - choose a username, add your bio and include photos and links that make it personal. Keep in mind that most people have never met you, so when they get an invite from "b_gord_76", odds are they have no idea who you are. Choose a real username (like your real name), make sure to fill out the full profile and include a picture. Also include links to your personal Blog/online spaces, so the invitee can do a quick hop-around and see if the connection makes sense. No one likes connecting to someone with a username like, "AcmeMarketing" with no personal information or external links. They are trying to connect to a person... not the company.
3. Too many inside jokes with people I don't know -this is a huge one. Be it on Twitter, a Blog or even flickr, if the main crux of the conversation is inside jokes between friends, why should anyone new connect? It's already strange enough because you don't know the person. No one wants to be the kid in the playground alone by the fence when everyone else is huddled around one another telling jokes. Make your content welcoming and warm... and open.
4. You're more of a shill for a company than an individual - we're all trying to grow our businesses and make more connections, but the power of these social channels is how the individuals connect. If your username is your company name and most of your content says "we" instead of "I", there may be problem. I don't follow Dell. I'm not interested. However, I do follow Richard Binhammer (Richard@Dell), because he's real, interesting and adds value. The fact that he works for Dell is the bonus... not the main reason to connect.
5. Expecting people to come to you, versus you being a part other communities - One of the main criteria in connecting is not what value someone can bring to your personal space, but rather what value you have added in other communities and the additional great content that can be received to connecting to you directly. All too often, Marketers think that by having a Blog or joining Twitter, they are enabling their consumers to connect to them. The fact is, consumers probably don't want to connect, but would rather see those brands being a part of the myriad of existing online conversations. Then, having a space of their own to add even more value makes sense.
6. I don't feel special - it is immediately clear by one glance at your content where the value in our connection is for me. W.I.I.F.M (What's In It For Me)? More often than not, the reason someone does not connect is because whatever it is you are putting out there is more about you than it is about the person connecting. Make your community feel special.
On top of that have some original thoughts and perspectives. Most people are not connecting because the content is random riffing of regurgitated thoughts on news items that have already been beaten to death.
What are some of your main reasons for not adding people to your digital social circle?
The debate over why it's important to comment on a Blog has been beaten to death. It's clear that comments provide valuable and powerful feedback to the Blogger. It extends the conversation, adds perspective and colour and - from a purely selfish stand-point - most people who leave a comment also provide a link back to whatever content they're creating (sometimes it's a Blog, sometimes a link to their flickr photos and sometimes it's even a link back to their Twitter profile).
One thing is certain: comments are what make a Blog exciting. Beyond the conversation, the Blogger feels a sense of satisfaction based on the amount of comments they receive and the people who comment have a platform to have their voices heard.
Yesterday I posted my business column which runs every two weeks in the Montreal Gazette and the Vancouver Sun daily newspaper (Selling 2.0 - Let The Customer Do The Communicating). I am continually amazed by the flow of phone calls and emails from people saying how excited they are to read it every two weeks. Along with it being flattering, you win too. Here's how:
The Comment Economy has an underground economy.
For every new person that comes to the Six Pixels of Separation Blog, they're not just reading my Blog for the first time... they're reading your comments too (and clicking on your links to learn more). The Comment Economy is as much about you as it is about the Blog owner. All too often, people read a Blog posting and have an idea of what they would like to say in the comment section and never do. The tragedy is not that the Blog owner will never see that comment, the real tragedy is all of the readers who will miss it.
What value does that have?
The number one reason people don't have a Blog of their own is because they're worried they won't have much to say or worried they won't be able to deliver consistent and fresh content. Commenting on someone else's Blog adds tremendous credibility when building your personal brand and getting your voice heard. I've seen search results pop up on certain individuals based on the comments they have left on various Blogs.
The Long Tail of content extends into comments. The Comment Economy is still rich and highly under valued.
Think of the thousands of new people that might discover you simply because you left a comment on a highly trafficked Blog.
What does it really take to sell something online?
Think about this for two seconds: You go to your favourite e-commerce site that sells books to check out the latest marketing book. You're about to buy it, but before you click the "add to cart" button, you peruse what other people thought of the book.
Even though the publisher describes it as the "feel-good marketing business book of the year," Sally from Pembroke, Ontario, lets you know that it's nothing more than regurgitated marketing pa
