Archive for November, 2007
Three Untapped Values of Social Networks
Rachel Happe from IDC gave a great presentation as part of a panel about social networks inside the enterprise. There were a few points that re-lit fires in my perspective on how social networks deliver value. What follows is my thoughts as riffs on some of what Rachel came out with at her presentation yesterday. This all stems from her words, but with some of my flourish.
Social Networks Capture Unstructured Information Well
There’s a huge difference in the effort to compose a Word document versus Twittering something of importance to a project or a shared experience. Blogs and social bookmarking are ways we can collect all kinds of pointers to things that matter to us, and yet, we don’t have to form them into something polished and produced. They can just be ways to post and store data, with tagging and metadata to enhance the searchability, discoverability, and shareability of the info.
Think about how many variations on this there are. Project plans and meeting notes are often too fat and stuffed with data to be “flexible” and “free flowing” enough to be useful. Our email inboxes are full. Sometimes, it doesn’t take a full email to get something done. There are SO MANY situations where a social network’s communications functions, when aggregated as part of the “informational whole,” have more value than a more formal tool like a document or email.
Social Networks Provide a Trust Filter
When implemented right, or by closing the loop tighter on your network, a social network can help you better sort data and information by helping you surface the information that matters. A great example of this in action is Robert Scoble’s Link Blog. Robert does a lot of blog reading and finds information that I find useful, saving me the effort of scouring those specific blogs. I do something similar with my reading list, and in two ways: sometimes, I re-share something Robert shared, to add a network effect. Other times, I share things he might not follow to alert others to what’s got my attention.
If you trust Robert’s taste in information and subscribe to his Link Blog, then you’re doing this. Another level of doing this is through things like the Blog Friends application on Facebook, which allows you to see what’s of interest to the people you’ve friended on Facebook. Similar premises in both cases, and another way that social networks (according to Rachel Happe from IDC) deliver value.
Social Networks Improve Information Speed
The speed of trusted, relevant information matters, said Rachel in her presentation. Twitter shows us this all the time. Guy Kawasaki implemented the Twitter News Network because he realized that information rushing through Twitter is faster in lots of cases than more official places for information. A month or two ago, the San Diego fires in California were another case of networks (Twitter again) being faster than news sources in being helpful. I’ve heard (I think Doc Searls mentioned it on The Gang) that newspaper companies threw up Blogger.com blogs to report, because it was faster/easier/more useful than their existing content management systems, when speed was of the essence.
When NEWS strikes over the last several months, I tend to get it from social networks long before I find a traditional information source. The same thing is true of how social networks can (and do) improve velocity inside organizations who choose to implement them. Communications methods in such a network allow for asynchronous, one-to-many transactions that keep things flowing at a better speed, and permit faster reaction to the information at hand.
What YOU Might Do With This Information
Which social networks are you using regularly? HOW are you using them? With this in mind, does it make you think differently about how you use the networks for information sharing?
There are opportunities to build and fine-tune information sharing networks that would improve velocity, filter by trust, and capture organic unstructured information in an easy-to-use method. Think about how this might work for you as an individual consumer of data, as a producer of information, and as someone in a network of people who share information.
Thanks to Rachel Happe for a VERY inspiring presentation.
(And if you’re lurking and reading, join MY network by subscribing for free to receive this information rapidly in an easy-to-consume and share format.) : )
Photo credit, Steve Webel
Red Monday Radio Drama Launches
Promoting one’s media is a tricky business. In the social media space, among podcasters, there are lots of people flinging cards, buttons, and stickers at you telling you about their show. Attending the New Media Expo (formerly Portable Media Exo, etc) is often like running a gauntlet for your attention.
But then, there was J. Marcus Xavier. (And this post is about his new thing, Red Monday).
Look at the picture. This gentleman had quite the schtick. He walked around, with red envelopes, with “intercepted” mail documents inside. And he wasn’t hurling them at anyone. In fact, I had to ask HIM for the envelope. Further, I saw him roaming the floor and approached him. I asked him what his plan was. (Remember, in a roomful of people trying to get my attention to listen to or watch their show, I was certainly not in the market to SEEK something, and yet…)
I got a perfect pitch. “Julius,” who refused even to give his name until I beat him down a bit, stuck to his script perfectly, and I felt so excited.
And then I got email updates from him, which were just warmups for his new show.
Red Monday is a weekly Internet radio drama telling the story of a nuclear weapon detonating in Las Angeles. The tag of the website says, “Millions of people are trying to get out. Three are trying to get in.” POW! Just like that, I’m asking, “Why? What happened? What’s the story?”
The #1 thing I like about this whole deal is how well it’s marketed. You have to go visit Red Monday to see what I mean. Yes, give them your email (at least a dummy account), and listen to the promo. It’s really worth it to hear how the show is promoted.
The show isn’t free. You get the first episode for free. But, you can buy the entire series, set to end on December 24th, I believe, for only $4.99 USD. I think even THIS is excellent. Someone showing that they feel their content is valuable enough to charge a subscription. So, like I say, swing by Red Monday just to see how JMX himself promoted this piece.
One Disclaimer
If this turns out to be NOT an independent production, like if this turns out to be a black man lonelygirl15 project, I will hunt J. Marcus Xavier down and cut his ear cord. Because I’m sold that this is an independent production by a really talented individual (and/or maybe some friends). If this is Hollywood being tricky, I will say really mean things.
But for Now…
You decide. I think this thing will be HOT!
Red Monday is your new radio drama.
Small Businesses And Social Media
Last night, I slept at my parents’ house, so I could make it into the city early to attend Jeff Pulver’s social media breakfast in Cambridge. My parents run a small jewelry business, featuring wire-wrapped gold and silver products, cameos, porcelain discs with custom dyed images, and all kinds of neat products. In talking with them, I felt so many connections to the things I’m doing both in social media and in my new job, and how they’re doing the same kinds of things in a different setting. It relates almost directly to yesterday’s post about media making strategies, so I wanted to carry the conversation over another day. Here’s my thoughts.
Small Businesses Experiment
My Mom commented that watching my flit around between Twitter, Facebook, Seesmic, Magnify.net, BlogTV.com, and a dozenty-two other sites is wild. She said that it’s so hard to keep up. And yet, when I pointed out that I’m experimenting with different products to understand which ones would work well for which business, she got it right away. Mom and Dad experiment with how each piece of jewelry they make draws a reaction (hopefully a sale) or doesn’t get noticed.
Sounds like what I do with comments and engagement on my posts and media.
Small Businesses Explore
Mom and Dad are small business 2.0. They don’t have a storefront. They go out to events, where the crowds gather. They’re living RSS. And they evaluate the venues where they do business. Are the right people coming? Do I feel heard? Am I seeing value for my efforts?
Sounds like questions you could ask yourself about Facebook or MySpace or anywhere you’re spending online time, right?
Small Businesses are Personal
My parents ALWAYS tell me more stories about fellow exhibitors from these events than anything else. While I’m bugging them for how many bracelets they sold, Mom’s telling me all about the girl’s boyfriend who painted for Disney, who makes these amazing custom holiday ornaments. My parents LOVE people. They want to make a living selling jewelry, but they want to do this by making people happy they’ve spent time with them.
Sounds like the best parts of social media, and why we bother doing half or more of what we do, right?
Small Businesses Adapt
I’ve not walked into my parents’ house in the last year and a half without seeing a completely new product they’ve created. The most recent aren’t even on their website, they’re so new (GORGEOUS stamped copper bracelets my Dad’s working on). I never know what they’re going to come up with, either in their products, or how they present them. My parents buy these gift bags in bulk and they’re clear. This means they can put a little bit of holiday paper inside each bag and it looks suddenly appropriate to the season at hand. The end presentation is amazing. It looks like you spent good money on someone you loved when you see their products presented in this way.
But that’s not how they started out. Each iteration of their products, their presentation, the venues they choose, the ways they choose to spend their time, comes from spending time learning, adapting, and learning from the community around them what works and what doesn’t.
Not unlike social media, eh?
Just a Little More Gushing
My parents are my biggest fans. They LOVE reading my blog. They watch the videos. They are up to speed on Twitter, and know what’s going on in my world.
But I’m a fan of them, too. My Mom and Dad are doing something SO risky and so huge. They’re both working on this jewelry business as their sole income with no previous experience in this field. Mom worked for Verizon. Dad worked for various IT companies. But they’re taking a chance, being entrepreneurial, and exploring the world of small business, in some of the same ways I dove into social media.
They’re smart, full of amazing advice, and lately, the conversations we’ve had are so energizing to me. Because even though they look at what I do in technology and wonder at all the permutations, we’re talking the same language. I see how they’re approaching their business, and it’s a lot like how I’m approaching mine. I care about my community. They care about theirs. I want to find a way to make a living doing these things. So do they. We are passionate about people.
Summing it Up
I guess, in the end, this post is about pointing out just how alike we are, people trying to figure out social media, and people running small businesses. There’s nothing elite about us blogging or making TV shows or whatever. It’s just tools. We’re still doing the same base things.
What do you think about that?
Oh, and in the utterly outright plug department, please browse around at my parents’ website at what they’re making. Kinda cool, when you think about what goes into it.
Consider Your Media-as-Business Strategy
Bloggers and Podcasters and Videobloggers and Media Makers who are interested in using their media as part of their business: Lend Me Your Ears. If you are rambling around and wondering what you’re doing all this stuff for, and if you’re wondering why someone hasn’t dropped off a bag of money at your door, please give the following concepts some thought: if you want to do something more than contribute to the overall blogosphere (and that’s not a bad goal at all), you might consider your media strategy. (NOTE: go no further, except for curiosity sake, if you’re just blogging for love and passion).
Here’s something to think about:
Your Product
The first thing is, what IS your product. Because if you’re thinking your blog is the product, that’s one way to start planning your strategy. If you’re planning to derive secondary value, by pointing people towards something of value by WAY of your blog (or podcast or whatever), that’s another whole strategy. So first, which is the product: the contents of your blog (can we just use this word and you’ll know I mean whatever you’re making?), or something of secondary value.
Your Goals
For whatever reason, we don’t usually think about goals with regards to our blogging. We just do it as a means of expression, or because we’ve heard it’s important. But why not set goals in place. Some of the sample goals in the illustration above involve building reputation or generating leads. Remember, some products are there for entertainment value (like Something to be Desired). They are quality products that seek to entertain us. But even then, the media might not be the product. What if Justin sold enough tee shirts and product placement to make a living making his show? Then the merchandising is the product, and the show is the vehicle. Make sense?
So, determine your goals before thinking up plans.
Considerations
The strategy that’s right for you is the one that aligns your goals with your desired results. So if your goal is to have a blog that tons of people visit, and you plan NOT to make money, but to just build reputation to a vast audience, you’ve decided that the size of your audience matters. If you’ve determined that you want to reach a specific, targeted audience, and that your goal is to make money servicing that target audience (like the Financial Aid Podcast), then you might want to work harder at finding the RIGHT audience.
And again, this isn’t “how to make money.” It’s “how to consider a strategy that helps you achieve your goals.” My goals for [chrisbrogan.com] right now is to build reputation and awareness for the things that interest me. If some day I choose to make money directly off the media I create, I’ll put different plans into action. I don’t need my blog to make me money, in other words. I just need it to speak to the people that I’m trying to reach and communicate with.
Next Steps
It’s incredibly powerful to write down your goals. It’s even MORE powerful to share these goals with others, and have some kind of accountability for what you’ve set into place. If you’ve never heard of the SMART goal method, consider making your goals, Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. (google “Smart Goals” for more).
From there, consider how to measure your efforts. Produce what you’re making. And then implement more of your plans based on the other items in the graphic, including marketing strategy, setting up check-ins to determine milestones, and then times to re-adjust your plan (because we’re rarely right the first time).
If This is Your Business (Or You HOPE It Will Be)
For those of you blogging and making media for love, entertainment, community, or whatever other reasons you have, great. But for those of you who are thinking of making a business out of your media, you have to start treating it like a business. That means learning the value chain of your product. It means truly, deeply knowing your audience. It means understanding how to message that audience, how to motivate that audience to interact with you and your product, and how to make your goals align with your business needs.
You can’t NOT DO the parts of strategy that aren’t attractive to you. Well, you can, but you might consider paying someone to do those parts for you, because they still probably have to get done to complete your goals. To that end, start thinking that way. Start looking at this set of community tools as something you’re using for a purpose.
Business isn’t evil. BAD business is evil.
What do you think? What does this make you think about with regards to your own media?
(And are you subscribed for free to this site?)
Thanks Tech Soup
The Nice folks at Tech Soup mentioned my AttentionUPGRADE show in their latest episode. Thanks, gang! You can watch an episode here, or click that “latest episode” to go watch it on their site. By the way, AttentionUPGRADE just got its own RSS feed, so if you like-a-da-vee-dee-oh… you can subscribe. Just like you can always subscribe to this blog for free. Free!!!!
One Laptop Program Extended Until Dec 31st
Holidays are a weird time. We think about what we want, and/or what to get people. Here’s a great opportunity for you to give to the larger world, and/or to get something interesting in return. The Give 1 Get 1 program has been extended until the end of 2007, so there’s still some time to order one of these to arrive before your upcoming holiday of choice. Here’s how it works.
Give 1 Get 1
Pay $399 USD and you purchase TWO of the famous One Laptop Per Child computers. One gets shipped to someone in a developing nation who can use this to change their future. The other gets sent to you (or, if you want, donate BOTH to the program).
The computer, the XO, is built for kids. It’s a lightweight, flexible, feature-filled computer running a flavor of Linux, and with all kinds of crazy learning experiences built in. For one thing, EVERY application toggles such that your child can view the code behind the application. Meaning, if they are so inclined, they can figure out how every little bit of the computer works. For another, the computers have a built-in mesh network that allows for collaboration with other XOs in the vicinity. This means that if someone’s working on a text document or editing a song, other people with the XO can be invited in to share in the experience.
Tax Write-Off and More Value
You can deduct $200 for one of the laptops, and further, if you keep the other XO (we’re giving ours to my daughter, who’ll turn 6 in June), T-Mobile has decided to make all their hotspots open and free to XO computers. So you can sip Ethiopian coffee at a Starbucks, and use the same computer Ethiopian children might be using to advance their futures.
Between those two values alone, the thing pays for itself.
Giving For Those Who Have Everything
Another way you can do this is to buy someone ELSE the gift of helping children, by making the purchase in their name. If you’ve got someone on your list worth $399, then buy one in their name. It makes a great statement, sharing the gift of giving to others (Anyone wanting to buy ME something worth $399 is certainly encouraged to buy into this program, that’s for sure).
Learn What They See
Forever the pragmatic strategist, Christopher S Penn points out that if all these developing nations are getting trained on XOs, he wants to see what their seeing and experience the device from their perspective, so he can have that leg up on his competition. So if nothing else, buy one to know what the developing world will see in the coming months as these become more ubiquitously deployed.
There. That’s all I have. I support this project. I think it’s a way to bring new value solutions to entire sectors of the earth that are currently struggling to find ways to contribute and drive value to their regions. Yes, feeding the hungry is important, but this is teaching a village to fish, and I support it.
Will you consider checking out the program for yourself and seeing if it’s of interest?
Give Zoho a Chance
Better sources than I are covering Zoho’s announcement that you can now use Zoho Writer offline using Google Gears, meaning that you can use a rich, useful, web application, even when you’re offline, and then sync the data back up to the Internet when you’re connected.
Look at all these apps:
So, for free, you can have access to a web-based, simple, networked, collaboration-focused suite of powerful tools, including a database software, presentation software, groupware, chat, etc, etc, etc.
I met the guys form Zoho at TechCrunch40 in San Francisco. Good bunch. The thing I can’t figure out, and this is just in my head, is why I haven’t made the switch to their products. They’ve got EVERYTHING. What the heck am I waiting for?
So maybe I’ll make this a personal project in December. Maybe I’ll do everything officey, except my email, inside Zoho’s walls, and see how it all feels.
How about you? Want to take the Zoho Challenge? Swing by Zoho, set up an account, and see what you can get done with their products.
