MattDickman.com

Micromedia. The next big, small thing

I had the pleasure of speaking to the Cleveland Web Association today with my presentation "Micromedia. The next big, small thing". The crowd was very engaged and had some great questions and follow up afterward.

For this one, I used Slideshare's Slidecast option so if you play the slideshow below, you'll hear me as the slides advance automatically. The deck is 105 slides, but takes about 13 minutes. I hope you enjoy!

| View

[Feed readers, please click through to the post if you cannot see the presentation.]

If you're looking for a speaker for your next event or conference shoot me an email. I'd love to meet you in person.

Technorati Tags:
event, marketing, Matt Dickman, PR, social media, social networks, Techno//Marketer, micromedia

The social media resume

As many of you know, I am in a new job in 2008. One of the reasons that I was sought out for this role is that I actually do the things that a lot of people just talk about. By that I mean blogging, podcasting, social networking, video, tagging, etc. It's a great feeling to have intimate working knowledge of the tools you need to succeed in the world of new marketing.

Part of the process that I embarked on a while back was putting my résumé together. Now, the normal stance on résumés is a one page, standard template. That leaves little room for your experience and involvement in the industry.

I took a slightly different approach that I would like to share with you. The first page of the résumé is pretty standard issue. My 'About Me' paragraph is a little more relaxed than you may see somewhere else, but that is what I wanted to portray. The other information is really straight forward as you would expect.

[Click to enlarge]

This, however, is where I broke away from the 'best practices' for résumés and looked for the right practices. I wanted to showcase the effort and breadth of my experience, so I added a second page with the heading "Social Media". Here I list this blog, MarketingProfs Daily Fix and the other communities where I am actively involved.

[Click to enlarge]

Each of these links (some I shortened with TinyURLs) paints a larger picture of who I am and what I have a passion for. Want to know what I read? Check out my del.icio.us page. Get a feel for what I am like in person through the videos I do. It's all there and there is nothing to hide. Walking in the door you know what you're going to get.

I highly encourage you to share what you do. Don't limit yourself to the one pager especially if you are going for a job in pr, advertising or digital. When other people are listing that they know Word and Powerpoint (is this really necessary any more people?), you will be listing your participation in the conversation. I hope this inspires you to think outside the one page résumé to showcase your talents in the light they deserve.

Technorati Tags:
marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, social media résumé

Starting right now

Starting right now, if you picked up a pencil and started writing that novel you've been thinking of, you'd be a few pages closer to your goal.

Starting right now, if you got that old guitar out and played for 10 minutes a day, you could rock out in a year.

Starting right now, if you put a little extra money in the savings each paycheck you would retire much more wealthy.

Starting right now, if you wanted to get your MBA you could find a program and get signed up.

Starting right now, if you got up from your computer and walked/jogged/ran for 30 minutes you would be healthier in months.

Starting right now, if you wanted to donate your time to charity, thousands of organizations are waiting for your call.

Starting right now, if you hopped over to Wordpress.com, Blogger.com or Typepad.com you could start your own blog.

Starting right now, if you wanted to encourage your coworkers to really get involved in social media they would owe you.

Starting right now, if you wanted to become a mobile marketing expert you could.

Starting right now, if you wanted to market yourself through social media to get a better job in six months you could.

Starting right now, if you wanted to start monitoring social media and begin listening to the conversation in related networks you could.

Starting right now, if you wanted to see what Twitter, Seesmic or any other hot new thing had to offer you could.

You could keep sitting there right now, but the future is undetermined, the possibilities are endless and you are a rock star. You can start right now to make it a better, more successful place for you, your family and your company.

What do you do to get off the couch, pick up the pencil, shut down the browser or focus on professional development even when you don't have to? How do you start right now?

Technorati Tags:
Conversations, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer

Two year blogiversary

It's been two amazing years since I "officially" started blogging and it's been a very rewarding, fruitful road. In the beginning I didn't know why I was blogging. What I mean by that is that I was blogging, but with no real focus or direction. I acted more like a synapse in the blogosphere. If somebody wrote something of their own or Apple released a new product I wrote about it, relaying it downstream. Most of those early posts were a couple of sentences long with a link and little value.

Then in November of 2006 I realized that I had something unique to say and a mission to help marketers use technology instead of being intimidated by it. Hence the re-branding of the blog to what it is today. It's so much easier now than it was back then. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot more effort, but it's 1000 times more rewarding.

The absolute most rewarding part of this blog (and sadly I didn't know this at first) is YOU! That's right. If you're reading this right now, either on the site or through a feed reader,I truly value your readership and loyalty. I had originally thought that a blog was all about sharing knowledge and increasing your visibility/marketability. It is partly about those things, but the most value from this blog is from the real relationships that I've made. I hope that I continue to provide you with quality content and value for two more years.

Thank you!

Technorati Tags:
Blogging, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer

Buzz Friday for January 25, 2008

Here is a look at what is happening across social media and new marketing this week. If there is anything that you would like to see in this post or if you have something you think is Buzz-worthy please drop me an email or leave a comment on this post. I want to make this as beneficial for you as I can.

Buzz Friday is also available as part of the Techno//Marketer Podcast on iTunes. Click here to subscribe and take the Buzz to go.

Welcome!
There have been lots of new subscribers in the past couple of weeks, so welcome to all of you. This post is a snapshot of the news I thought was interesting and relevant this week. I try to do these posts each Friday (time permitting). If you have anything you think is Buzz worthy, let me know!

• Jason Calacanis is blogging a startup handbook. I really respect him and think this is a great series. Maybe a book someday Jason?
• Ryan Karpeles gets all biological on us with his look at the business as a living ecosystem. (Ever notice people always put marketing at the heart?)
• Jeremiah has a great post on measuring your social media plan. I really love how he looks at alternative success factors.
• More and more mobile advertising firms are ramping up on funding. IMMI got $25 million from WPP.
• Nokia claims to have 40% of the world mobile handset market.
• Scrabulous looks to have officially bitten the dust on Facebook. Too bad Hasbro/Mattel. Hopefully there is some backchannel communication to bring it back. Your awareness is dying by the second.
• Rumors of a free WSJ are wrong according to Rupert Murdoch. The cost may actually rise.
• Looking for a process to help you with your writing? Check out Dean Rieck's 5-step method.
• YouTube's mobile content site gets more video content. Check out m.youtube.com on your handset.
• Speaking of Jason Calacanis, Mahalo released a really smart "multi-profile" option today. Basically a single page with tabs where you can log in to your social network accounts.
• Japan's super carrier, NTT DoCoMo, is set to use Google's search technology on their devices.
• YouTube is getting ready for Super Tuesday with mapping.
• Email beats search and display advertising according to marketers responding to a Datran Media survey.
• Ross Dawson outlines a great visual trend map.
• Josh Hallet posted a great summary of Andy Sernovitz's speech at the Strategy and Innovation Forum.
• Have an RSS feed? Want SMS messages when it changes? Try Pingie.
• Local news aggregator EveryBlock launches in SF, NYC, Chicago.
• Rohit has a wonderfully insightful post on MicroSharing. (kind of like this post)
• Microsoft joins the DataPortability movement, adding more momentum to the rolling stone.
• Motorola's market share and profits are down. Seems like other manufacturers are sailing past them, but don't count them out yet. Just need a bust of engineering/design.
• John Moore looks at Starbuck's $1 coffee plan and how it varies from their traditional path.
• More airlines are looking at inflight net access. Southwest is the latest.
• Facebook en Espanol.
• MySpace will be adding BBC content to their video network.
• Yahoo has produced a great little smart start guide to help get people up and running with search marketing.
• David Armano looks at 10 ways digital can help your business thrive in a recession. What would you add to his list?
• Neville Hobson has a good recap of the Dreamhost billing snafu that left many less than humored.
• The latest company to bring a custom build to the iPhone is Plaxo.
• Google and Publicis are working on ad technology improvements. Interesting eh?
• Shel Holtz asks if businesses will latch on to the lifesteam concept. I think adjusting the nomenclature could help. I've written about attention-casting before.
• JoJo Bickley shares her experience using Gigya to smoothly launch a cross-platform widget.
• Joseph Jaffe and David Armano talk ambiently about interruption. This sounds along the lines of Fram to me.
• Twitter has opened their messaging platform to developers. Great move guys.
• More reporters are using Twitter to report from the campaign trail. Mark Simon, are you listening?
• Facebook is talking with Nokia to embed the platform on devices.
• January 30 is international delete your MySpace account day. Are you participating?
• Facebook is crowdsourcing their translations. Great move to engage and provide value.
• Yahoo has integrated del.icio.us into search.
• Pownce is now out of beta and open to the public. Are you on Pownce? If so, are you using it?
• Becky Carroll shows a great example of how Starbucks should be connecting with their communities.
• Andrew Chen looks at Second Life usage stats.
• Loved this example of how small, low-tech innovations in search AdWords can get some attention.

Top Five Web2.0 Movers of the Week (using Alexa data)

1. Bolt
   
2. 37 signals
   
3. Feedster
   
4. SmugMug
   
5. FeedBlitz
   

More

Top Ten Marketing Blogs from Viral Garden

1. Seth's blog
   
2. Duct Tape Marketing
   
3. Search Engine Guide
   
4. Logic + Emotion
   
5. Daily Fix
   
6. Brand Autopsy
   
7. Influential Marketing
   
8. The Engaging Brand
   
9. Church of the Customer Blog
   
10. Drew's Marketing Minute
    

View the top full top 25

Top 5 "Viral" Videos This Week

1. I have a dream
   
2. Cloverfield HD Trailer
   
3. Heath Ledger talks about the Joker
   
4. Batman - Dark Knight Trailer HD
   
5. Barack Obama Speaks at Dr. King's Church
   

More

---

To help you stay on top of what is happening and to filter the myriad options, you can now subscribe to the Techno//Marketer podcast on iTunes. Get updates in real time when new videos become available.

If you use another podcatcher you can grab my podcast RSS feed here.

---

You can watch this and other Techno//Marketer videos on your video channel of choice:

   
   

Technorati Tags:
trends, buzz, buzzfriday, matt dickman, Techno//Marketer

03 is the new 30

So, here's a premise I've been working on this for a while now. The 3 second ad is the new 30. Don't laugh, I did say three seconds. This is a micro-messaging world and 5, 15, 30 and (god forbid) 60 second spots are too long when paired with nearly instant-on content. Three seconds is about as much advertising as I will take and not have an adverse reaction to the message.

Yesterday on my blog I wrote about marketers who know the price for interruption and pay it anyway. Another problem that dovetails with interruption based advertising (and is equally frustrating to web users) is ads that get moved over from TV to the web. You've all seen this happen. You go to a site, click to the content you're interested in and viola! A 30 second spot stands between you and your content.

Read the rest of the post at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog.

Knowing (and paying) the price for interruption

Interruptive advertising is one of the building blocks of most traditional marketer's communications plan. TV ads break up 20 minutes of actual programming (unless you Tivo your content). Radio ads moan on and on while you trudge through traffic. Pre-roll ads on web video make you wait patiently for 15 to 60 seconds. Everywhere you turn, you are accosted by advertising.

There are consequences to doing this, especially in the digital space. I enjoyed reading this article on the New York Times site points to a Burst Media survey of 2,600 online video viewers. In the survey responses, 53.6% of people recalled seeing some type of interruption-based advertising (pre-, mid- and post-roll). 78.4% of those people said that in-stream ads are intrusive with 50.4% saying the ads disrupt their time. (This means the subtraction of value, not the addition of value.)

The in-stream, or mid-roll, ads (a trend that is rapidly growing and is particularly user un-friendly) had the most negative reaction by far. 50.7% of respondents said to have stopped watching the video when they saw an mid-roll ad and 15.3% were so angry they left the site all together.

While people ages 18-24 are slightly more likely to stay through a mid-roll ad, the worst finding for advertisers was around the recall of the ads. Only 21.4% of people who recalled the ad said they pay more attention to mid-roll versus other ad formats. 

If you're a content creator, does it really make sense to run mid-roll ads if people are abandoning your content? You have to ask yourself where you place your value, ad dollars or content distribution. Moreover, if 1/3 of people leave your site altogether, you're hurting revenue from sponsors and other advertisers not to mention your reputation.

From an advertiser's view point of view, why would you do this? The negative impression of the ad's placement is weighing on your brand. If your goal is to have people take action or remember your product/service, this is definitely going to work.

There are, however, better options. Create a "skin" for the video where your branding surrounds the content, but doesn't encroach on it. Align your ads with content that makes sense and is in your audience's focus. The worst thing you can do is take a 30 and plop it in the path of web users who are trying to get the content they value. You're not adding anything to that situation. The 30 second spot is dead online as well (just in case you were wondering). 

What other advice would you give to advertisers lining up for these placements? What ads have you appreciated or received value from and how have they been placed?

This all leads up to a post I have been working on for a while that will premiere tomorrow. "3 is the new 30".

Best practices vs. right practices

How many times have you, in your current or past jobs, been tasked to find best practices? Your boss probably said to you "Hey, we're doing a new X for client Z. I need you to find best practices on that". If you're like most people, you immediately go to Google and search for "best practices for X". Sound familiar?

In a world where new innovations are only a mouse click away, why do we place so much value on best practices. Shouldn't we look at best practices as a starting point instead of the ending point? Do you think Google looked at online search best practices and said "Hey look, let's just do what Yahoo is doing"? Not at all. They took Yahoo, used it as a foundation, build stronger algorithms and fought for white space. The result is a superior product that allowed them to expand into unforeseeable new territory.

Wikipedia defines a best practice as "a management idea which asserts that there is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc."

The problem with the definition, and my overall contention with the idea, is that these are only the best known practices. The real potential is in the unknown. That is where market leaders are born and exponential growth is realized. When companies look at so-called best practices, what are they looking for? I think a lot of companies just want to be average. They want to be on par, but not put in the work to push the envelope.

At the end of the day, the RIGHT practices are what matter. The right practices are tailored to the needs of the company and the realities of the market in which they compete. Best practices should only be a starting point. They should be a map of the known that makes expanding into the unknown possible.

Have you ever relied on best practice information only to find that you could have done better? How have you used that information as a baseline for innovation? What steps should companies take to great their own right practices?

Technorati Tags:
Google, innovation, marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, Yahoo

The Age of Conversation redux

Last year when I participated in the first Age of Conversation, I had no way of knowing how powerful an experience it would be. Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton took on this beast of a project and created a success story that spans the globe.

Gavin and Drew are at it again and they're opening it up this time. The Age of Conversation part two is in the works. Check out this post on Drew's blog if you're interested in becoming an author for this next version. The topic is up to the community and the choices are "Marketing Manifesto", "Why don't people get it" and "My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)". Vote for your preference here.

Jump in if you're interested and join me in the conversation. The best part of all is that 100% of the proceeds go to Variety, the Children's Charity.

Technorati Tags:
ageofconversation, Drew McLellan, Gavin Heaton, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer

links for 2008-01-18

• After toy corps move to remove online games, creators and fans strike back
  India's national newspaper, The Hindu, picks up my blog post on how companies should think about dealing with fans in new media.
  (tags: india mattel scrabulous mattdickman)

Who are you looking for? Criminals or evangelists?

Easily the most value that I receive from writing this blog is the interaction with you in the comments. Yesterday's challenge to marketers to wake up and start looking for ways to leverage new media (instead of shutting it down) was no exception. Great comments like those always lead me to new ideas and questions, so much so that I have a hard time sleeping.

One comment yesterday sparked me to think about a fundamental shift in thinking that needs to take place for companies to be able to fully engage in their community.

When you look at your brand's social media universe, are you looking for criminals or evangelists?

It seems like too many companies are looking for malicious intent right from the start. They treat loyal, fans and content creators like they're criminals when they should be engaging those people in alliances and helping them to add value to the larger community.

But, how can you tell friend from foe? This can, admittedly, be a little complex at first glance. I think the easiest way to tell friend from foe is to engage them in a conversation. Shoot them an email, be positive and see what they have to say. Online it's easy to reach out to the person taking the time to create on your behalf. Look at their intentions (which should be pretty clear) and come up with a plan to engage them whether the intent is positive or negative.

I do understand that there are legal protections that have to be maintained through the marketing process. Shel Holtz had a fantastic response to my post on his blog where he talks about blaming the law and not the lawyers and he's right. However, progressive companies that are willing to lay a little more on the line can really capitalize. Smaller companies could have a huge advantage over their larger, more bureaucratic, litigious counterparts.

What additional steps would you take to find more about somebody's intentions? What steps have you taken to engage evangelists when you spot them in the wild? These are passionate people who can be a powerful force in grassroots marketing.

Wake up marketers!

Some days I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I was just running through my feeds at lunch and I came across this post from Shel Israel. It seems that Mattel and Hasbro have issued a take down order on the popular Facebook application Scrabulous due to trademark infringment. As of this post there are 600,563 active users of the application.

Clearly this is a trademark violation, but just look at the reach that this single application is having. There has to be a balance between legal and marketing in order to thrive in new media. Personally, I never really thought about Scrabble until I saw the flood of invites and blog posts and messages on Twitter about this little applicaiton. Personally I don't own the real world game, but I know people who did buy it after this Facebook app reinvigorated their passion for it.

If I were in Mattel's marketing department here is what my train of thinking would be here:

1. Somebody please kick the legal department out of the room. Thanks, now let's continue.
2. Wow! These guys built an awesome application around our brand
3. We NEED to talk to them and buy this application ASAP
4. We NEED to hire these guys (or at least retain them) to do updates and possibly roll this out to other networks (Bebo, MySpace, etc.)
5. Seriously guys, keep those lawyers out of here! Just tell them somebody in accounting is using the wrong Pantone color in the logo again.
6. If we can't buy it, we at least need to sponsor/co-present it as *the* official Scrabble game on Facebook
7. If none of those options work we need to congratulate those guys publicly for their efforts and encourage people to join in
8. I wonder why we didn't think of this.

I think way too much marketing decision making is done by zealous, old-school, out-of-touch marketers or the legal department. I've personally run into legal departments that have the marketing group so fearful that the lawyers start making branding/positioning decisions for the company. That's a very scary idea in my mind.

Any marketer out there should be looking at all of the options inside social networks like this. Look at these four actions steps to get the most value:

1. Creation: build the application, group, etc. that fits your business goals and adds value to your customers.
2. Acquisition: If you're late to the party you should look at what is out there and set some acquisition targets. Look for those people adding the most value even if they don't have the most traction.
3. Collaboration: If you can't/won't build it and somebody else has, look for ways to collaborate with them. Support them in ways that bring value to the users.

Have you seen any other examples of marketers making snap judgements and persecuting their biggest fans? Social media is about supporting evangelists, not crushing them in a public display of force.

Front line empowerment in new media

Part of the way through last year, I published a video that provided you, my readers, an overview of a new website. I was fair and pointed out both the positive and negative aspects of the site. Less than a day later I was contacted by one of the company's front line, social media employees.

At the time, I was very impressed with the response time and the professionalism which that individual brought to the exchange. He was complimentary, explained the company's position and offered to provide me more information if I needed it. I thanked him and asked if he would like to be on an episode of my podcast to explain what the company had done to date and what was in store for the future. Keep in mind this entire conversation happened within 24 hours of my post.

Sadly, this is where a great experience, and potential relationship, turned bad. The individual I had dealt with was required to "run it up the flagpole" and ask the company's PR group if he could have "permission to talk to me". I was turned over to the head of the communications department who summarily dismissed me down the ranks once he found out I was "just a blogger". I ended up at the director level and over the course of MONTHS (yes, MONTHS) I was strung along, lied to and ultimately forgotten.

Techno//Marketer is a place for marketers to learn, not a place to browbeat companies into the ground (there are plenty of blogs that do that). That said, this is a great case study on what NOT to do when you're getting involved in new media. On the flip side, it can teach us how to empower our front line people to engage with the community and keep the conversation going.

How to empower your conversation agents:

• Make conversation a priority (this seems obvious, but if it's not a priority you're going to fall short)
  
• Set up a clear process for monitoring/tracking what is happening and who is talking about you
  
• Set an expectation on initial response time and follow up (48 hours or less ideally)
  
• With the conversation as a priority, put your trust in the people you hired
  
• Empower those people to make real, human connections with real people and follow up
  
• If you have multiple people following up, make sure there is a way to hand off smoothly so nobody slips between the cracks
  
• Look for opportunities to add to the conversation by providing resources or information to make the overall content
  
• Constantly look for ways to use your resources to enhance the value to the members of the community
  

The worst thing a company can do (beyond not listening in the first place) is casually following up and then fading away. You know those people at conferences that are constantly looking at who else is around when they're talking to you. Don't be that guy in social media.

Do you have other tips that you would add to this list to empower the front line agents? Have you had any good or bad experiences? Please share them in the comments.

Technorati Tags:
Conversations, marketing, Matt Dickman, PR, social media, Techno//Marketer, outreach

What events will you attend in 2008?

I think we all have the challenge of identifying and justifying event attendance in our marketing roles. I have informally asked from time to time where people are heading, but results have been hit and miss. Why do I ask? Simple, the most valuable conferences that I've attended have brought me face-to-face with fantastic people. Those relationships lead to great opportunities and incredible brainstorming.

Personally, last year's MarketingProfs B2B Forum was a great conference. I was able to meet awesome people and make some lasting connections. Among those I was able to meet for the first time were Ann Handley of MarketingProfs and Todd Andrlik and I was able to re-connect with David Armano and CB Whittemore.

The most comprehensive marketing event list that I've seen was generated by Chris Brogan and you can see it here. These are only suggestions though. What matters most is the people who are attending. To help everybody out I've created a short (2 question) survey to ask where you are going and why. My thinking it that the more people at an event, the more value you receive.

If you have a minute and want to help crowdsource event attendance, click on the link below. Any other events you think of that are not on the list can be emailed to me or suggested through the form. I'll share the results with everybody in a week or so.

Click Here to take survey.

Technorati Tags:
event, marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer

links for 2008-01-11

• Pixelanthropy: Charities tap into Second Life
  MSNBC looks at innovative ways that non-profits are using virtual worlds to network, raise awareness and funding.
  (tags: secondlife virtual Web2.0 marketing)

The future of social networks

So, what will the future of social networks look like? This is a questions that I ask myself all the time and I find more people asking me. I think there are a couple of ways that social networks could start to pan out in the next 2-3 years.

Big networks are the sweatsuits of social networking
What do I mean by this? It's one-size-fits-all. It's easy and comfortable. These big networks are completely generic and have to appeal to wide ranges of people at the same time. But, like sweatsuits, you don't want to wear them 24x7.

Increasingly, the problem is that people inherently seek value. It's not necessarily a conscious decision, but if you're needs are not met one place, you're going to start looking someplace else. The big guys don't have tailored content and more importantly they lack context. This is going to cause a splintering effect among users as they split up and find their value.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, let's say you are an avid photographer. You want content that appeals to your niche and you'll seek it out. You want to talk to people that love what you love, get cool content, make new relationships and you want advertising (a necessary evil) to at least be personally targeted to you. The entire experience surrounds you with relevance.

The rise of micro-networks
Micro-networks, on the other hand, are the bespoke suit of social networking. These networks are self-contained, hyper focused and tailored to the needs of the community. You see these pop up now with sites like Dogster and Coastr.

Another option to stand-along networks are those that use a hub and spoke model of interaction. Ning is one such example. One key component of Ning is that you have one central user account that logs you in to any micro-network contained within. This allows any member of any network to move around from niche to niche and engage easily.

Here is a graphic representation of the hub and spoke model of user and networks:

Most of the networks inside Ning are completely user created. People go in, design the layout, invite users and manage every part of the content. They're passionate about what they do and it definitely shows. The members of these sites police the content, create new content and engage with each other.

So what do you think? Facebook isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It's still a good meeting place like the offline pub experience where anybody can go in and talk about anything they want with a large number of diverse friends. Have you used Ning's networks yet? If so, what do you think? Are you a member of any micro-networks?

Technorati Tags:
Facebook, Matt Dickman, MySpace, social media, social networks, Techno//Marketer, micro-network

links for 2008-01-10

• Video Podcasting Coming to TiVo and Thus Mainstream Audiences
  Very interesting convergence of technology here. If you're not using video in your marketing efforts, your going to miss the ITV/DVR innovations that are right around the corner.
  (tags: Tivo DVR ITV marketing video podcast)
• Social Media + Spontaneous Advertising = Ikea
  Sean Scott points to a great example of corporate listening and taking action. IKEA is allowing this guy to live in one of their stores. How are you empowering your people in the field to make the right decisions?
  (tags: IKEA socialmedia listening monitoring)

New year, new opportunities

If I’ve seemed distant here on the blog for a couple of weeks it’s because I’ve been going through some changes in my professional life. After eight wonderful years with my previous employer I decided to shift direction a little bit and jump in to the digital side of the PR world. I am officially (as of yesterday) the new Director, Digital Marketing at Fleishman-Hillard here in Cleveland.

If you don’t know who FH is, that’s okay. I didn’t either before I looked at my LinkedIn “who’s viewing you” page one day and saw one of their recruiters had stopped by my profile. I did a deep dive and was impressed with what I saw. FH is one of the largest PR agencies in the world and part of the impressively diversified Omnicom network. That’s all well and good, but why choose PR now?

Why PR?
I could have (would have) continued in digital marketing firms, but I’ve truly been impressed with the thinking coming from the PR side of the marketing blogosphere. Specifically, I’ve been impressed with the new media thought leadership. The PR industry is full of people whom I greatly respect like Kevin Dugan, Shel Holtz, Geoff Livingston, Rohit Bhargava, Katie Paine, Steve Rubel, David Reich, Neville Hobson, Phil Gomes, Brian Solis, Doug Haslam and numerous others.

Why Fleishman?
Fleishman is very respected, digitally savvy company that is taking new media and technology seriously. PR has always been about forming relationships and engaging in conversations and there is a natural progression into social media (maybe more so than ad agencies or digital shops). They’re also very supportive of this blog and the social media activities that I participate in, which will continue full-force.

I am looking forward to learning a lot and being able to share some of that knowledge with you, my readers. I am still 100% focused on digital marketing, but the PR effect will certainly be fun to weave into my arsenal and hopefully yours as well. This blog will not turn in to a place to pitch, it will remain a place to learn and grow together.

If I’ve ignored an email you’ve sent me over the past couple of weeks, don’t despair. I’m slowly catching up.

(Btw, did you know that PR doesn’t stand for press release? Just kidding! I had to say it.)

links for 2008-01-05

• Noontime Web Video Revitalizes Lunch at the Desk - New York Times
  Interesting look at the fact that web video is keeping people around their desks for lunch.
  (tags: video noon time)

Buzz Friday for January 4, 2008

Here is a look at what is happening across social media and new marketing this week. If there is anything that you would like to see in this post or if you have something you think is Buzz-worthy please drop me an email or leave a comment on this post. I want to make this as beneficial for you as I can.

Buzz Friday is also available as part of the Techno//Marketer Podcast on iTunes. Click here to subscribe and take the Buzz to go.

No video this week, but I'll be back next Friday with a full post and video. Enjoy the buzz.

• Technorati changes their blog rankings and cuts in-bound links on a couple big-name blogs.
• TechConfidential has a good interview with the woman behind Pownce, Leah Culver (via CenterNetworks)
• iPhone sales in France fell short of the target. Could be because of the mobile device innovation already in Europe.
• PR Newswire is making moves to get more Hispanic market penetration.
• Mack points to a Business Week article about Sony BMG stripping its music from DRM. This is the latest in a number of label moves in the same direction.
• Seth Godin has a good take on word of mouth and the business challenge it presents.
• A recent survey of business journalists found that 80% use or would use blogs as primary or secondary information for stories. Yet another reason blogs are a good move if you're trying to establish yourself in an industry or niche.
• Robert Scoble was kicked out of Facebook for running a third party script to get his contact's contact info. He was then re-instated after asking to be allowed back and agreeing not to violate the terms of service again.
• Sirius reached the 8 million subscriber mark in 2007.
• JP Morgan takes look at advertising revenue forecasts and CPM growth via social media.
• Skellie takes a look at seven types of blog posts that seem to get links and traffic.
• Joseph Jaffe is having a UNM2PNM redux with his new book Join the Conversation. If you're a blogger who would like to review it, head over and sign up.
• I love Hugh's "social object" idea as it applies to social media and real life too. He's on a roll with a series of great posts explaining it further.
• Do you have ringxiety? I suffer sometimes.
• Jason Calacanis is very pro-Twitter as as a serial entrepreneur, he's always looking for the revenue stream. This post is a great look at how Twitter could be a billion dollar company.
• The Prime Minister of Japan has followed the UK's Royal Family in using YouTube as a content distribution platform.
• Scott Karp lays out five guiding principles for transforming media companies.
• Idris looks at the demands clients are placing on agencies to reinvent themselves.
• When live blogging competes with broadcasting there is trouble.
• John Battelle is known as an accurate predictor of the future, so here are his for 2008.
• Chris Brogan looks at how you can fine-tune your blog with some visual metrics and some common sense approaches.
• Rohit has a short prediction for trends in 2008 and I think he's on to something.
• Verizon expected 300 million text messages on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. I know I sent a few.
• Scott Monty reached out to his blog community and they responded in large number. Great to see people helping people out when they need it.
• Ivy League schools are opening their course material to anybody.
• Shel Israel jumped into the discussion on social media lurkers and had some great points.
• Most Americans get their answers from the Internet. Are you surprised?
• Are you a microcelebrity? Do you know one?
• When you need to tell time, do you look at your watch or your cell phone? Two thirds of people turn to their phones.
• Would you pay by USB drive over credit cards? It's happening in South Korea.

Top Five Web2.0 Movers of the Week (using Alexa data)

1. Zillow
   
2. Prosper
   
3. Upcoming
   
4. Grouper
   
5. Shutterfly
   

More

Top Ten Marketing Blogs from Viral Garden

1. Seth's blog
   
2. Duct Tape Marketing
   
3. Search Engine Guide
   
4. Logic + Emotion
   
5. Daily Fix
   
6. Brand Autopsy
   
7. The Engaging Brand
   
8. Influential Marketing
   
9. Drew's Marketing Minute
   
10. Church of the Customer Blog
    

View the top full top 25

Top 5 "Viral" Videos This Week

1. Obama's victory speech
   
2. Happy New Year (ABBA)
   
3. Human Tetris performance
   
4. Battle at Kruger
   
5. Scotch Mist (Radiohead)
   

More

---

To help you stay on top of what is happening and to filter the myriad options, you can now subscribe to the Techno//Marketer podcast on iTunes. Get updates in real time when new videos become available.

If you use another podcatcher you can grab my podcast RSS feed here.

---

You can watch this and other Techno//Marketer videos on your video channel of choice:

   
   

Technorati Tags:
trends, buzz, buzzfriday, matt dickman, Techno//Marketer

links for 2008-01-03

• Ad Houses Will Need to Be More Nimble - WSJ.com
  WSJ look at shift demands on ad agencies to use the web and data to reach customers more effectively and deliver more value.
  (tags: WSJ marketing advertising)

Book review: Now Is Gone

Co-authors Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis solidly deliver on the book's promise and tag line "a primer on new media for executives and entrepreneurs". Now is Gone, however, provides solid knowledge to bolster even the most veteran maven's arsenal. It's a fairly quick read, but the documentation and references help continue the conversations online.

I always take notes when I read books so I can easily reference them later. In my 13 pages of notes on Now is Gone, here are some of the most beneficial points that I took away:

• Brian Solis' opening sets a nice tone and pushes marketers to involve more sociology in marketing and PR planning
• The audience is dead, you have to reach people and add value to their lives
• Research your community to find where they are spending time and get involved
• Dedicate resources, set schedules and responsibilities for content creation
• 100% transparency is paramount
• Look beyond demographics to wants and desires, create content to allow people to add more value to their lives
• Be part of the community, listen and add value where you can
• There are dangers too. Don't astroturf, flog or overtly promote the company
• Find your company voice and stick to it and post on a set schedule

The key themes in the book can be summarized in Livingston's seven social media principles:

1. Give up control of the message
   
2. Honesty, ethics and transparency are musts
   
3. Participation IS marketing
   
4. Communicating to audiences is dead
   
5. Build value for the community
   
6. Inspire the community with real, exciting content
   
7. Manage the media to build stronger, more loyal community members
   

If you're new to the space, this is a great overview to get you up to speed quickly. If this is old hat for you, you'll still pick up enough value to make this book worth your while. And in full transparency, I purchased this book myself. You can buy your copy here.

I'll be featuring more book reviews this year, so let me know if there is a book you suggest or have an interest in. I'm reading the book MicroTrends next.

Technorati Tags:
marketing, Matt Dickman, social media, Techno//Marketer, book review, Geoff Livingston, new media

links for 2008-01-01

• 2008 Web Predictions - ReadWriteWeb
  Great collection of predictions from RWW
  (tags: 2008 privacy marketing trends predictions web2.0)