The guys over at SEMpdx know how to engage and reward the speakers for their upcoming SEM conference - by giving them “airtime” on their blog. My interview was posted over there this morning, thanks to Todd Mintz. I was a bit rushed, however, I didn’t put a link to my own blog in the whole thing.
So much for do as I say, not as I do… Sheesh.
(0) Comments As I’ve mentioned before, I think Pete Blackshaw is great. I have from the moment I sat across the dinner table from him in Newark, NJ - at the end of a blogging and social media conference - and listened to him glow about his kids.
He’s smart, forward-thinking and his advice to businesses about consumer generated media (CGM) is extremely well-rooted in reality. So when he announced his 2008 forecast intentions on Facebook and asked for feedback from the CGM group, I’ve been looking forward to reading them.
They were published last week on ClickZ in the CMO section. As far as I’m concerned, anyone interested in “Web 2.0″ should read, learn and enjoy.
(1) Comments Here’s a great answer to the question: What is Enterprise 2.0?
And a great new site discovery, slideshare.net. Where you can share presentations online - I’m signed up!
With thanks to Scott Gavin via Simon Revell, via Scott Niesen. Cheers, gents!
(0) Comments I’m at Innotech today in Portland, OR, about to hear a panel on “Media 2.0″- Scott from JanRain, Ray from AboutUs.org, Johnny from Feedia, Kent from Anvil Media and Brian from Intel.
JanRain works on OpenID, which is like your drivers’ license online - identity verification.
Intel’s Developer Forum recently was held in Beijing and was blogged live - a first for them, and probably for many there.
I’m working with Anvil Media on Search Engine Marketing PR - (SEMPR) for Attensa.
AboutUs.org is a wiki with information on 4million web sites - they’re like wikipedia for the “long tail” of the internet - for those of us who are not famous.
Feedia implements social networking framework so people can handle ipTV, podcasting, etc.
Q. What are the implications of social media?
A. Ray notes an increase in transparency is mandatory - people are being pulled over the threshold and taking the communications platform. Companies are being pulled with them.
A. Brian says, I’m trying to take marketing out of the equation, and give subject matter experts (SME’s) the opportunity to talk directly to the consumer.
A. Johnny said with millions of people playing with people’s brands, how do you control the brand experience? You don’t.
A. Kent - as a marketer, people are looking to agencies to help them negotiate this new world. Clients need to rely on agencies and marketers to help strategically advise companies on how to deal with it.
Thank goodness, because that’s exactly what I’m doing…
Q. How do you justify time spent on blogs vs. doing your regular job?
A. If you’re using the tools correctly, you might save time from a communication perspective. And at JanRain, they have engineers blog together with customers - it adds relevance for the brand.
A. At Intel, they encourage engineers to blog - and they make it really easy to blog. So it becomes fun and engaging for them.
A. Ray said wikis are even better at helping engineers interact. And in a wiki environment, everyone has the opportunity to “refactor” the conversation - so anyone can clarify a question or an answer which allows the group to make the whole conversation more meaningful.
A. Tip the funnel, let these collaborative technologies help people talk about your products themselves.
A. Pointing people to a publicly owned, collaborative site has more power in terms of marketing - third-party endorsement.
Q. What’s the difference between a blog and a wiki?
A. A blog is a platform for a single, knowledgeable individual / group to stream information. A wiki is a collaborative environment. ICANN wiki will allow you to create a blog-like wiki using wiki technology.
The culture of a wiki can be hard. You have to build a group of contributors - one person has to build an area of content that’s quality information - then get volunteers to help do the editing. Ray’s group welcomes their new contributors to further engage them. And comment moderation is important, because spammers will kill you.
PBWIKI has a great technology to allow regular people to start wikis. They’re “hosted” services - which means you pay by the month - and they hide the “wiki syntax” that will allow regular people who are familiar with Word to edit on a wiki.
Q. Is there a book about the strategic elements of all this?
The Long Tail, Wikinomics, Blogging for Business, any Seth Godin book, Naked Conversations…
I’m writing a book on both the strategic communication initiatives and breaking it down to practical how-to tips… will have to pick up that guy’s card…
(2) Comments It’s almost here - Innotech Portland. Sean Lowery over at Prospera Events has improved the way the event will flow - each day features information for both marketers and IT executives.
Day 1 is the “Web 1.0″ track, where people can explore technology and techniques from a ‘novice’ perspective.
That’s where I’ll be delivering my presentation on corporate blogging: Gross Blog Anatomy. I enjoy speaking to people who are just beginning to leverage the blogosphere for their organizations.
Day 2 is the “Web 2.0″ track, where there are more advanced topics - and if newbies go through Day 1, the idea is that they will be able to be conversant in Day 2 subjects.
Registration is available online. I’m looking forward to it!
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