Archive for December, 2010

Radical Transparency of Privacy In Social Media

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear it?  Does anyone care?  If you sign up for a website email list and the site uses your information for other purposes, do you care?  What are the downside consequences of you sharing something socially? Digital privacy is a hot topic right now as it should be.  On one hand, you have consumers who got a taste of the FREE internet meaning content is free, applications are free, utilities are free.  On the other hand, you have corporate advertisers who are paying for your access via advertising.

Ever wonder how YouTube could possibly host, store and stream all of that video content to everyone, anytime and not charge a dime for it?  Ever wonder how Flickr and Facebook can store you entire life’s worth of photos for free?  It’s not because they like you all that well, it’s because your aggregated data is very valuable.  The digital “gold” of the Internet if you will.

I always wonder if people really care about their data privacy.  Consider college students who post their secret, crazed college days online.  There is definitely a demographic shift of intentionally posting private data.  Younger generations are much more open to posting their life happenings onto the web whereas adults who have not grown up with technology are much more stringent on the content they post.  The digital data privacy debate certainly has a colorful list of players (my version only):

  • Uptights – typically older and do not trust that which they cannot hold (the Internet)
  • Loosey Gooseys- Have no regard for any repercussions for what they post, say or otherwise do online.  They feel they are exempt.
  • Professionals – Have a few accounts (mostly on business sites) that they frequent and a handful of social sites they signed up for but have never gone back to.
  • Greenies – first time on the Internet and think everything is “official” because it’s on the Internet whether content, sign-ups or spam links
  • Too Cool For Schoolies – who have been on the web since it started and think they can spot a scam or fake cookie a mile away. These are the ones that marketers really love to collect their data on.
  • Violated – Every one of the above who find out their data is being used who act like they actually care about it now.

The fact is that your data is collected online both intentionally and intrinsically.  Intentionally when you sign up for an email reminder, sign up for a new game or social network ,etc.  Intrinsically every time you log on and visit a site someone is following your cookies and making assumptions based on where you visit and what you search for….you just don’t know it.  If you want to get a sense of what is collected, just visit the Consumer tab of www.bluekai.com.  But don’t blame it on the Internet and all the mean companies on the web.  We are the ones who shunned the newspapers when they tried to set up walled gardens and charge for content.  We are the ones who refused to pay for personal quickbooks offerings therefore making way for www.mint.com.  I liked the way one CMO put it,  the federal campaign to require a digital Opt-out list is a scare tactic.  What they should really be marketing is a “I want to sign up to pay for my digital content” campaign due to the fact that if everyone opts to not allow digital tracing, then advertisers will have to require a paid subscription for anything they do online.

Now imagine that no matter how smart you think you are, you intrinsic data has been tracked for decades however no-one had the computing power to do anything with it before.  That’s right, every time you watch a television show through your cable box, the cable company knows what you watch, when you watch it  and how much of it.  For instance, they can provide an accurate list of supporters to candidates by knowing if a customer frequents CNN over FOX News, they know when you move and they know if you pay your bill on time or not, etc.  Ever wonder how those coupons on the back of your grocery store receipt always have the items you like, they compare what you just purchased against other items that people who purchase similar items usually buy also.

The fact is that marketers are in a never ending quest to become more relevant to you whether online or offline.  If business is going to infringe deeper into your privacy then who need to keep them in check.  Is it government or industry trade groups?  The business landscape is littered with those who have tried to self-regulate (Internet and Housing Bubbles) although there are shining examples as well.  I believe that it will ultimately come from some mix of the two where the government will continue to protect citizens from economic privacy harm like identity theft and Industry watch dog groups will hold companies morally responsible.  Which brings up another point, Is a company’s obligation to consumer privacy a regulated one or a moral one.  If I ever found out that www.amazon.com was using my private data maliciously I would go to www.ebay.com, www.etsy.com or www.jomashop.com no matter if the FTC was there or not.

This big topic will certainly require a pro, therefore who else to cover it than the Social Media Explorer himself Jason Falls.  This is Jason’s 2nd time hosting and if this chat is anything like that last one he did, we will have to charge a cover fee (speaking of free content :-) ) to pay for all the extra server strain he brings.  Jason is a coveted strategist, speaker and all around good person and we are happy to have him hosting once again.  The topic and questions are:

Topic: Radical Transparency of Privacy In Social Media

Q1: What is a business’s obligation with consumer’s digital right to privacy?

Q2: Who should regulate digital privacy – gov’t or industry groups?

Q3: What are the moral implications for businesses and digital rights to privacy?

Please join us in this online chat on Tuesday, December 21 at noon ET.  Follow #sm91 from your favorite Twitter client or simply go to our LIVE page at www.hashtagsocialmedia.com/live.  The format will stay the same with the first question starting at noon and a new question coming every 20 minutes at 12:20 and 12:40.

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Using Video and YouTube To Reach and Influence Audiences

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
All companies have a content team and most have what they would refer to as a content strategy.  Typically that strategy includes text and images for the website, some brochure ware and then there is a by-line for Social Media.  Mostly that by-line is there to re-purpose other content (blog) or simply to promote (Twitter).  While it is still a very small percentage, many are beginning to find value in the use of video in their social media efforts.

While some content is OK for text, there are many opportunities to greatly expand the value of content through the use of video.  While there are thousands of applications, here are a few:

  • Product Demonstrations
  • Express Passion – Leaders can draw out their passion better with video than with text
  • Showcase Talent
  • Provide a Day in the Life Of – especially for recruiting
  • Funny or Entertainment Videos – with the hope of them going viral
  • Training

The residual value of the videos are significant as well.  Videos can be an untapped source for organic search engine optimization and can also create more backlinks to your site and they can be shared easily with others to create a large network effect.  Whether using video for traditional marketing purposes, training, recruiting or as a way to increase product use, video is a great way to engender trust, show passion and grow your culture.  On the other side, consumers are also using video to make their point.  Companies cannot afford to not have this skill available to them.

Technology is increasingly taking away many of the barriers that once existed with the ability to create and distribute videos.  Mobile devices enable a much different product or shopping experience especially when tied to QR codes, Apps or mobile websites.  Flip cameras and the like create an easy way to capture, edit and distribute videos in a way that simply was not possible even 5-6 years ago.  New web enabled technologies will create new ways of engaging with videos as well whether through the desktop of even now on your television.

To explore the many ways that video can add a new element of sophisication to your corporate efforts we decided to devote an entire chat to it.  This week’s chat will be hosted the respected Andrew Mueller.  Andrew’s perspectives on video and it’s impact through social media are impressive and he will lead us to better understand how to make an impact in our orgainizations by using video.  Join us in the discussion this Tuesday 12/14 at noon eastern time.  The topic and questions are:

Topic:  Using Video and YouTube to reach and influence audiences.

Q1:  What types of video work to reach and affect audiences?

Q2:  Is YouTube being used effectively by brands? Examples.

Q3:  How do Google TV, Apple TV and others change the game?

Please join us in this online chat on Tuesday, December 14 at noon ET.  Follow #sm90 from your favorite Twitter client or simply go to our LIVE page at www.hashtagsocialmedia.com/live.  The format will stay the same with the first question starting at noon and a new question coming every 20 minutes at 12:20 and 12:40.

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Posted in Content, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Social Influence: Meaningful?

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

We know that being popular does not equate to being influential.  On the other side, being influential does not equal popularity either (consider Florida’s new Governor elect Rick Scott is now very influential, yet he is the first such governor since 1916 to win without the popular vote (<50%)).  So is this conversation is circular, another chicken and egg discussion?  There are a couple of ways to approach this topic. 

  1. the much covered approach of popularity vs influence and
  2. the more scientific approach of the forms of social influence. 

The difference of these two topics, especially across the enterprise, is that one conversation can add value and the other typically does not.  So to not bypass a good SEO opportunity, let’s cover both of them.

Influence vs Popularity: you can talk ad nausea about this topic but consider that having a lot of Friends, Likes or Followers online does not mean that you are either popular or influential.  It simply means that you paid a service to use bots to increase your presence.  for companies looking to find industry influencers, they typically rely on tools that mechanize a formula that compares the amount of post with the amount of people who see the posts against the number of people who act (like, share, retweet) on the post.   The point I’ll make here is that scheduling your message to be published at a time when everyone is online and looking for your message does not mean that your message will be popular or influential…only optimized.

Forms of Social Influence – when you begin to apply science to influence there is a chance you will be able to repeat success. First, when we use the term Social Influence, let’s make sure that we are not talking about how influential people are on social networks.  That’s the soft discussion.  We will use the term social influence to mean the study of influence in the context of a group (or social influence) overlaps quite a bit with the research on attitudes and persuasion. Social influence is also closely related to the study of group dynamics, as most of the principles of influence are strongest when they take place in social groups.  As an enterprise, if you are able to understand the science of how people affect the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of others (influence) you could begin to shape your engagements much differently that pushing a press release to a group of industry bloggers and calling it a day.  According to Wikipedia, the 3 main forms of social influence come from conformity, compliance and obedience.

  1. Conformity – a tendency to conform in order to receive social acceptance – is generally defined as the tendency to act or think like other members of a group. Group size,unanimity, cohesion, status, and prior commitment all help to determine the level of conformity in an individual.  While conformity is generally disdained in American culture, there are many cultures in the Middle East and Asia that rely on conformity for social influence.
  2. Compliance – refers to any change in behavior that is due to a request or suggestion from another person.  Word of mouth marketing relies heavily on compliance behaviors with foot-in-the-door or bait-and-switch techniques. 
  3. Obedience – This is a change in behavior that is the result of a direct order or command from another person.  Special interest groups find this method popular.  When there is a chemical spill, toxins in a river, a new national healthcare plan…it is easy for people to follow a distractor based on socially accepted beliefs regardless of truths.

The default for companies trying to figure out who is influencing their “voice” in the market is a tricky one.  The only approach right now is the crop of online tools that have emerged from Klout, Edelman and Hubspot that formulate from forms of popularity that assume influence.  For some companies right now showing movement for the sake of motion is better than nothing.  What this does is provides a false sense of security though as there are no algorithms that measure passion.  Passion can drive tremendous influence if you think about the Bills that pass through congress with a child’s name attached to them.  They are driven by wildly passionate parents who do not want the same thing to happen to any other children.  These parents would never show up as influencers in the traditional sense though.

Where I like the discussion around the science of influence is it opens up broader discussions for enterprises who are looking to become influencers and not just rely on those who seem influential.  After looking at the forms of social influence, companies can uncover new meaning behind their approach in an effort to continuously make them better.  Think about recommendations.  If you understood that your site visitors were simply looking for conformity as a way to influence a purchase decision, you would employ product ratings and feedback.  To take it further, compliance is more than a simple “share this” button, it’s the Groupon model.  I’ve made a decision to purchase this product but I need you to also buy it in order to get the discount.

Sorting out social influence as a science will lead to a much better result than simply looking at people who have large followings or simply talk the loudest in the room.  To help us sort out our discussion this week is Shelly Kramer.  Shelly Kramer is the Founder and Chief Imagination Officer of V3 Integrated Marketing and Kramer & Co who has been written up in Forbes, American Express and the Wall Street Journal to name a few.  Our topic and questions this week will be:

Topic:  Social Influence: Meaningful?

Q1:  How do you find influencers?

Q2:  Can you create influencers?

Q3:  Is Social Influence a meaningful goal for companies?

Please join us in this online chat on Tuesday, December 7 at noon ET.  Follow #sm89 from your favorite Twitter client or simply go to our LIVE page at www.hashtagsocialmedia.com/live.  The format will stay the same with the first question starting at noon and a new question coming every 20 minutes at 12:20 and 12:40.

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