We are all working like mad to develop location based services and technologies. Phones that know where the nearest cool coffee shop is, discount coupons that apply to a store you just snubbed and walked past. I believe it is considered to be a multi-billion dollar opportunity and the salvation of the mobile industry.
But frankly, we are sucking eggs and doing next to nothing while a few key individuals are proving you can mine for location based gold today with free or near-free resources.
Spammers Innovating Faster than Hi Tech:
The Real Estate, Online Pharmacies and Porn Spammers have once again proven they are leaders in adapting new technologies to their annoying purposes.
I tweeted the following:
And within minutes I received a follow from KatyFStewart.
She offers one link on her page. To this site:
Should I be promoting her Twitter account? Should I have clicked through on a link from a semi-naked nubile photo? No. Of course not. But will I be alone? Nope. Guaranteed. Not only that, I would bet that many a media person would cry to get even 1/10 of the clickthrough and conversion rates these people are achieving.
Not Just Porn:
Tweet the name of a city and you will undoubtedly get a sudden increase in followers. Why? Because the real estate industry is not about to be left behind by the porn industry. Quite a few real estate agents appear to be using auto-subscribe services to add you as a friend in cities they do their work in.
These are services that listen for a set of keywords and once it finds a match with any twitter user in the world, it sends that person a follow request on your behalf.
Let me be clear. I hate auto-subscribe services. It's like paying someone to get you more friends.
That said, it does make me wonder. Do we really need fancy and expensive GPS and high tech solutions or could we just better monitor and respond to the contextual content people are providing in their tweets and status updates?
Brilliance:
What I love about [what] Ms. Stewart is doing (real name likely Amanda Hogsbottom) is that they are using simple, free and contextual tools to mine twitter and facebook. Then they are doing simple (and free) IP sniffing from their website to provide an end to end contextually relevant and highly personalized (location based) solution. Something the big brands are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to achieve with likely far less success.
I would think that writing an article titled "F*ck Influencers..." would have halted some of the SPAM PR email I receive every day, but alas, just last week I received yet another in a steady stream of such emails. This one stood out as it actually referenced the "F*ck Influencers..." post.
All of these emails tend to follow a very simple format.
Dear Mr. Howard,
[Introduction on how they love and follow my blog.] [Crafty little segue into their new product and service they are launching.]
[Calling out a post they liked by its title] [Some reference about how their service may be of interest to me (call to action)]
[One or more paragraphs on their service/offering that appears to be cut and pasted from a press release.]
Signed,
Name, Phone, Email, etc.
The email I received last week actually appeared to be written by hand and not by a PR firm. I can only assume this individual had been told "how" to email blog owners, had paid someone to do this on his behalf, or is perfectly harmless and just stepped into a hornets nest. So in an effort to help this individual out...
I AM NOT AN "INFLUENCER" AND WE ARE NOT FRIENDS.
That's not to say I don't have influence. And that's not to say we couldn't one day be friends. It simply means I am not a vehicle sitting around idly waiting to SPAM my friends no matter how "awesome" this piece of PR news is.
Let's talk about what influence I have and how to get me to one day care enough about your service to potentially share it within my circles of influence.
It's amazingly simple.
1. Have a conversation with me.
Don't call me and don't email me. So where can you have a conversation with me? Well, here's a crazy idea, how about on the very blog that brought me to your attention?
2. Have a conversation with ME about what matters to ME.
Every article on my blog has a wonderful little comment feature. Here's an "out of the box" thought. What about leaving a comment on the very post you were about to say your really liked in the spam email?
But there's a catch, you have bring some value to the conversation or I'm going to assume you are a spammer and press "mark as spam."
But that's a lot of comments you have to leave and monitor. What is a PR lackey tasked to incent and measure massive viral reach via SPAM emails to do???
Die, hopefully.
3. Create a Relationship
Relationships are two way streets. They are touch and go. They take lots of time and enormous amounts of effort. Which may be why everyone, including PR firms and agencies who should know better, spam everyone by email.
But it's only when we have a relationship that you are then able to leverage my influence. It's only when we have a relationship that we are able to determine what is of value to each other. The relationships that bring value to each of us as well as our extended circles of influence become stronger and open up new opportunities.
4. Relationships are complex
Here is the good news about relationships: they are not an on/off switch. There are more contexts for relationships than I think can be defined or addressed. I may think you are cute. You may think I'm nice but too big for my boots. I may disagree with everything you say but admire your transparency and openness. We might see the world the same way or from radically different perspectives.
Or we may only have a relationship built around a topic or area of interest. Something I'm interested in and you are able to provide insight or access to.
I am 100% in the Herd camp. Influencers don't exist, only influence. Step 1 is to have a relationship. I'd go so far as to say that the person with the most relationships wins.
It all started when I first read Saul Kaplan's article on "Creating a Passion Economy". I was so enamored with this concept that I asked eleven people I respect to weigh in on their views regarding "The Passion Economy" and it's role or impact on business, brands and each of us.
First, a big thanks to: Saul Kaplan for the article that kicked this all off (catalyst!) Valeria Maltoni for the idea I stole (eBook) Peter Flaschner for his design vision, ideas and wine Eli McIlveen for urging me on and his amazing editorial reviews
And now, a round of applause for the contributors:
I was asked [for] a LinkedIn answer on how to build Word of Mouth for a new Montessori school (www.montessorinl.ca) that Steve Bannister and his wife are starting in St John's Newfoundland. Here is a reprint of my answer. There's a cool story about an amazing man Wayne buried towards the end...
A lot of what I recommend can generally be equated to common sense. This is because I believe that people are social beings and we desire connections, comfort and to feel valued. The idea being that it takes a community to make an individual. So if we behave in ways that are socially relevant and bring value to the individual, then I believe word of mouth will prosper.
At the risk of being flamed by WOMers, I feel it takes anything but an expert on Word of Mouth campaigns to get Word of Mouth. Rather, it takes a hard fought for awareness and commitment to caring and forging connections. You need to align your passions with your values and create the most valuable and humane service possible while recognizing and being honest about your limitations and failings. ie: being open to input and conversation.
I'm adding some links to services that could be very useful but they assume you are starting your centre here in Toronto. Whether they are working/adopted where you are is a critical factor to be determined.
Certainly no shocks in the above list. These services can foster increased activity, but what creates the desire for people to share your service with friends and family? I'd post some additional questions.
How do people make recommendations now? Who are people in your community listening to today about schooling/education for their kids? What makes you stand out in a sea of noise? What values are at the centre of what you are doing? The "What and the "How" are weak cousins to the "Why".
I'm going to tell you a story about one of the greatest word of mouth examples in the city of Toronto. A story very few people know about, but those who do will jump up and down in support. And this individual has most likely never hired a WOM consultant, nor has he focused on WOM.
Wayne runs a laundromat. My google maps search leads me to estimate that there are potentially more than 1900 dry cleaners in the city of Toronto. So how do you make one outfit stand out?
Historically, I have always chosen my laundromat by location. Then when a piece of clothing gets ruined or improperly cleaned, I often select the next best candidate that is slightly less convenient to where I live/work/travel. This continues infinitum as I never run out of laundromats.
Only this all changed when I bought my first Hugo Boss suit and a couple of $200 dress shirts. I suddenly realized that it's one thing for an $80 shirt to get improperly pressed and glossy, but I didn't want this to happen with my much more expensive items. So I walked into the agency where I was working and asked if anyone knew of a decent laundromat in the area. I use the word "decent" here because in my brain I had no idea that excellence could occur in the realm of the sweaty, disinterested dry cleaning world I have witnessed every week of my adult life. (I believe an analogy with education could be made here. ;-)
I was accosted by a good friend at the agency who literally shook me until I agreed to save my soul and visit Wayne at King West Village Cleaners (1000 King West, 416-596-0559). I thought it a bit strange that my friend knew the guy's name let alone that he was so emphatic and excited about me visiting him. This makes me chuckle because I now find myself doing the shaking and empathic gestures when asked about dry cleaners.
It should be noted that I now live over 10 miles away from this laundromat. I no longer work nearby, I don't have a car and I rarely travel to that end of town anymore. I'm an East-ender and he is far on the west end. (For my NY readers, this is like my living and working in SoHo but visiting an laundromat in the high 40's.)
But every two weeks I rent my Zipcar and "fly" across town to meet Wayne. And every two weeks he greets me by name, discusses any issues I have and personally picks out the shirts to be hand finished.
And every two weeks I watch in amazement as someone else walks in before or after me and receives a level of service I've never witnessed elsewhere. On my last visit, I watched as a woman bashfully handed Wayne the most destroyed pair of jeans on the planet and explained that they were her "special jeans". She was in front of me and he apologized once to me and then turned his full attention to her. It took close to 5 minutes for her to explain which rips were not to be repaired, how she wanted other things done. This pair of jeans must have been 10 years old and he treated it with extreme care, listened to every point and ensured he understood what to do. He treated this horrible pair of jeans as she intended - as her most prized possession.
The last time I was in the shop, I asked Wayne what he does. I wanted to know how he creates something so unusual in a space so crowded. He told me a very simple thing. "I just treat every piece of clothing as if it is mine." I think there is more to it than that. He acts with respect and integrity. He fully shows up every day and as a result, his entire staff follow his lead to a level of service I am privileged to receive.
I've been arguing against the validity of focus groups for some time now and I'm certainly not alone. They
are not effective tools for innovation, insight generation or
validation. But now they are outright dangerous.
Focus groups lend themselves to being gamed. We saw it
very early in the dot com boom where the same people would show up
regardless of how you worded the screener. It didn't matter which firm
you used, or whether you wanted someone with 1 year of experience
online, 3 years of experience or a PhD in computer science. Marla and
Jim would be in the submitted names. They were professional focus
groupers and had registered with every research house in town.
So the market reacted and higher end houses worked to identify and screen these people out. But now a new variation appears to be at play. One where cheating the marketers is not only the order of the day, it's a business.
A friend of mine loves focus groups. Let's call him Dan. As an actor,
focus groups allow him to make some easy cash between gigs. The other
day I met Dan for lunch and he informed me that he had a focus group to
attend after our meal. Nothing unusual.
What was unusual was he had notes. While we were waiting for the bill
he was studying them quite intently. I was quite perplexed and asked
him what the notes were for. He smiled awkwardly and said he had to be
a gay man between jobs with two kids from a previous divorce. He was trying to memorize his previous work history and his views on dating sites. My jaw
hit the table.
His recruiter didn't call with a screener. His recruiter called with briefing notes on who he was to "become" for the session.
I pity the marketer still using focus groups. It's only going to get worse.
For those of you who don't know the toad, or Alan Wolk for short, he's a wonderfully insightful "tradigitalist" from deep inside the agency world who tells it like it is. The past month found me insanely busy. To the point that I suddenly realized Alan had posted more comments on craphammer in June than I posted stories. So I asked him to write a guest piece. Here it is.
Something Extra
While we tend to think of “social media” as something scientific in nature, the truth is, it is every bit as subjective and dependent on executional considerations as traditional ad devices like TV commercials and print ads.
Take casting, for instance.
Casting is often what makes or breaks anything involving actors. Be it a movie, a play, a TV commercial. Or an outreach program.
That’s right- the same way the wrong chemistry between an actress and her leading man can ruin a movie, the wrong chemistry between an outreach person or evangelist and their audience can ruin a social media program.
This is less of a concern right now, when social media experts are few and far between and companies are treading carefully in the space, than it will be a few years from now when these programs have become ubiquitous and the ranks of potential talent have swelled.
The best evangelists are patient listeners who know how to engage. The type of person you’d be glad was sitting next to you on a long plane flight. They need to be able to diffuse tension, especially if they’re working for a brand whose customer service record or actual product or service has been less than stellar.
Their personality will represent your brand: if people like them, then people will like you. It’s that simple. And that complex. You want people who are likeable. But not so likeable that they overshadow your company and your message.
Graphics are another important intangible that social media players ignore at their own risk. The right look and feel is key in all your company’s communications. Even the background of your Twitter home page. So if you’re a financial company, that means a Twitter home page with skateboard style graphics is inappropriate. But so is an undesigned solid-color background. You need to look as if you’re taking it seriously. That means designing something that tells your customers you’re thinking about them and that you know who they are. They’ll appreciate it and what’s more, they’ll feel that you “get” it.
Finally there’s language. Social media is a challenge for some, because business-speak is not appropriate in this space. People don’t want to hear your favorite buzzwords and platitudes. They want you to talk to them in plain English. Which means the English that adults speak in conversation with each other. It does not mean that otherwise sensible 40 year old middle class white people start adopting faux ghetto slang (“Yo Tweeple! Sup!”) You remember what your dad sounded like when he told you something was “totally awesome!”
Exactly.
You need to speak to them like peers. Get your message across in a way that reflects your company. Authenticity is key here. As is a sense of humor. People want to connect with another person. Not someone who spits back pre-packaged sound bites.
Copy on things like widgets and apps is important too. This is where we need to take advantage of the skills advertising creatives have been honing for decades. Like how to write in an engaging manner. To keep copy short and sweet. To provide visuals that complement and enhance the copy, rather than merely illustrate it.
Now the ability to execute any of these elements well is not a given. They may look easy, but things like casting, good writing, design and art direction are talents. And if you want to succeed in the social media space, you’ve got to hire people who have those talents. They’re the ones who’ll give you that “something extra” that can spell the difference between failure and success.
I appear to be having my first humane air travel experience in 10 years.
I am flying Porter airlines for the first time out of Toronto and I have to admit I was more than skeptical about this new alternative that avoids our crazy international airport located 40 minutes outside the city core. But booking a ticket online at their website was crazy easy. And there were all kinds of interesting options, like multiple travel passes, tickets that can easily be changed with only an hours notice and more.
I left my downtown office 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to my flight's scheduled departure. This is compared to the 3 hours I have to leave for an International flight out of Pearson. I arrived at the ferry within 10 minutes and was whisked to the terminal where I was checked in and through security in less than 5 minutes. Not one line.
Then I found myself in a wonderful lounge area with soft chairs, free iMac computer stations, more conveniently placed power outlets than I can shake my fist at, a fully stocked fridge full of an array of beverages free for the taking and an automated cappuccino machine serving up hot lattes to anyone who wants one.
The wireless internet is free. The people are friendly and the place is clean.
I actually feel valued and special. And at a price that is hard to believe for a flight to New York.
Wow.
I will sign off, sitting in my comfortable chair and sipping my latte while I twitter and work away. I am quite excited to see what the flight part of this journey is like. For an organization that has put so much work into this part of the experience, I can only expect to be further amazed.
UPDATE:
Wow. The flight totally lived up to expectations and THEN some. Brand new planes and imagine my surprise when I was given a boxed meal AND a glass of wine, all on the house. I've flown for 5 hours with no food on every other airline. 1.5 hours and a meal. And a glass of wine? Insane!
I was working on a lengthy wrap up of a show I attended but based on what went down there, I give you a short manifesto instead.
I am not for sale.
Is not everything for sale? Does not everyone have their price?
I have a job yet no company owns my soul. I am paid for my insight yet not even I control my muse. I am paid to speak, yet my voice can remain free.
This online space is a privilege and a refuge for me. It is a place of others and more than me and my words. It is a conversation and as such it is not mine to sell.
There are those who wish influence and desire a candy coated portrayal of reality. This is not the place for these people. This is where I share how I see the world and that, like me, is not for sale.
[Anyone willing to design a banner ad and/or a blog badge with a message along the lines of "This space not for sale"???]
UPDATE 04-26:
Thanks to Mario Vellandi for these banner ads! Click to enlarge.
UPDATE 04-27:
Hee Haw Marketing joins the ranks of those contributing to "I am not for sale". Many thanks to Paul for the blog badge below. I'm afraid to ask who in his family or circle of friends is featured in this photo. ;)
(click for larger version)
UPDATE 04-28:
Katie Chatfield is not for sale. Or as she put it "I’m not [a] died in the wool opponent to people making money out of their content […] But it needs to be the decision of the content creator: never NEVER without my permission". I think this is a CRITICAL point. My manifesto was not to argue against people making money. I'm simply fighting for the integrity of what I create and the spaces in which I create. If someone can get paid AND maintain that integrity, great.
"A new opportunity opens every day. It opens with the page. The pen. Another rant. In control? Hell no! We are in slavery to the chaos of our lives. This is the manifesto of one."
UPDATE 05-07:
David from AdPulp joins in and I believe is the FIRST to re-run one of our donated banner ads! Thanks David!
UPDATE 05-09:
Redmarketer is not for sale. I totally concur that a badge is not necessary and certainly appreciate the nod and the story!
----
Post a banner or badge on your site. Link to your own personalized version of the manifesto or this one here. Up to you. Send me the URL and I will publicize that you are also not for sale.
This one is just for Charles and Piers. So if you're not Charles or Piers, you'll have to stop reading. I mean it. Damn. So much for control. Stupid Internet.
Stuff White People Like is a blog devoted to the ethnography (er, study) of white people and what they like. Trend hunters bow down and prepare to be amazed!
I am continually asked to present on "What is Social Media", "Web 2.0" or even "Crowd sourcing." Quite often I am met with some level of incredulous skepticism. Surely, this doesn't apply to insurance, manufacturing, publishing or any other industry you can name.
I can't help but recall the early days of the web. My firm was called in to many a boardroom and it was always the same question, "So, this web thing, is it just a fad?" And sure enough, every example we showed was questioned. I was a geek caught up in my techno-futuristic dreams and this web thing would surely not apply nor impact the company in question or their industry.
And here we are full circle. Sure, blogs might become something else. Wiki's will evolve into new toolsets and even YouTube will transform and be usurped by something else.
But personal expression will not disappear. The desire of people to have a voice and to participate will only increase in the days to come. This is what technology is enabling on a scale never before seen on this planet.
The organizations that embrace this shift will accomplish things never before thought possible. They will learn things that will amaze both them and their competitors. If this isn't worth the risk of "letting go of control" then I don't know what is.
Barack Obama is just one such example. I want to be very clear here. Even if Obama fails to achieve his goal of becoming President of the United States, I predict he will have a deeper and more powerful understanding of the American people than anyone in the history of politics. He will have engaged at a level yet to be fully grasped or understood.
A Historical Campaign
The Washington Post reported on 02-29-2008 that Ms. Hillary Clinton had raised $35 million in February of this year. Obama is expected to announce a number that is "considerably more" than that number. What makes this exceptional is that, unlike Hillary, Obama's donations have come entirely from a source untapped by other politicians: the average citizen.
According to the Los Angeles Times on 02-07-2008, "Clinton has relied heavily on large donors, at least half of whom have already given the maximum allowed by law. By contrast, Obama has built an extensive network of
small givers who are free to keep donating until they hit the $2,300
federal contribution ceiling."
I remember the first time I donated $50 to the Obama campaign. Within minutes, I received a message from a previous donor who had agreed to match a donation from a first time donor. The email was written by a gentleman from down south who wanted to share with me his reasons for supporting the campaign, in his words.
Social Media
Obama has been leading on the use of digital technologies since early in his campaign. Information Week reported on 07-23-2007
that no Republicans are reaching out with mobile technology" and spoke of Barack's use of a special short SMS code as well as downloadable ringtones and more.
At the beginning of his campaign, as members of the movement, we were invited to log in to my.barackobama.com and help to organize block parties in our neighborhoods, start a blog or participate in conversations. The site has grown to provide opportunities to match first time donors, watch videos and actively participate in the campaign by a variety of means.
Obama has continued to use every channel to spread his message. If you haven't watched or read the "Yes we can" speech, then I recommend you do so.
And the YouTube videos of his speech put to music are emotional beyond words. The fact that Obama has engaged and allowed for others to carry and manipulate his voice and message points to this being more than a "channel" approach. Unlike his rivals, his campaign is about enabling voices to unite together under a cause of hope. Something not seen in quite some time (at this scale) in the American political system.
Enabling Our Participation
Yesterday I was surprised. The weekly Obama emails pleading with me to donate or match the donation of a first time donor had suddenly been replaced by a call to action much like at the beginning of Obama's campaign. I was being asked to participate in an online drive to reach out to Texans for the upcoming primary. Over a million calls had already been placed by people just like me.
This morning I could only sit in amazement as they had already achieved over a million and a half calls.
I clicked on the link in the email and was brought to my personal area of the Obama network. What greeted me? A personal message and a list of the top callers in a battle for the top slot. I may not know Ms. Gold, but I admire her. I admire any citizen that motivated to making a change. And my body tingles in the knowledge she is anything but alone.
Mr. Obama and his crew didn't start with this knowledge of how to embrace technology. Nor did they begin with such a clear understanding on how to motivate members of their growing "community" of engaged citizens. But they certainly understand it now. And the passion of artists, mothers, activists and citizens is palpable.
There is an embracing of "voice". The campaign as much enables the voice of its supporters as it does the voice of Barack Obama. It is co-creation in one of its finest forms.
Here is Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Turnley's documentation of a recent rally in Houston. Shared as an embeddable flickr stream.
Crowd Sourcing Versus Crowd Enabling
"Crowd sourcing" as a term drives me insane. I picture rows of people herded like cattle and prodded into providing input by a system that views them as fodder for its machinations.
"Crowd enabling", by comparison, is both the potential and the benefit of any engagement strategy. It speaks of value provided by the experience, brand, organization, or what have you. It embraces and leverages the concept of co-creation which I believe Alan Moore would stand behind (one of the founders of engagement marketing.)
Barack Obama is an amazing case study of how engagement can enable citizens on a scale and breadth never before dreamed possible. It's important that we see this campaign as a concerted effort across mediums, channels and communities. And it's critical we see the lifting up of the individual, their actions and their individual voices as a cornerstone of the campaign's efforts.
Organizations and brands that are paying attention will not ask "does this apply", but rather "how this applies."
I can't help but recall the early days of the web. My firm was called in to many a boardroom and it was always the same question, "So, this web thing, is it just a fad?" And sure enough, every example we showed was questioned. I was a geek caught up in my techno-futuristic dreams and this web thing would surely not apply nor impact the company in question or their industry.
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