Time 23:38

This Marketing Edge podcast focuses on health care and includes an interview with Leigh Ginther director of marketing and public relations of Swedish Covenant hospital in Chicago. Ginther describes the logic, strategy and resources they used to create Swedish Covenant social media programs.

Ginther also discusses how they identified resources of physicians to blog and deliver unique content that attracts patients. They spent some months learning the communities first and aligned those that were most active online with the appropriate service lines

• Nurse and Midwifery
• Weight, Nutrition and Lifestyle Management
• Pediatrics

They also have a program geared to general hospital offerings and awareness.

We get into the details and practical issues of resource allocations for social media programs and whether it helps achieve the hospital’s goals.

HEALTHCAMP MINNESOTA - Come On Down October 24 .

Social Media No Slam Dunk for Health Care

Along with all the hype and hypesters attempting to apply social media to anything that breathes, health care in many cases, is a cautious participant, taking time to evaluate what it means to be social.

While other industries can dip there toe in the water, a subjective opinion about a big screen TV isn’t going to kill me, health care opinions can have consequences. Checking a box once you create a Facebook Fan Page does not a social media strategy make.

HealthCamp Minnesota is a conference on Saturday, October 24 that will discuss the consequences of social media, technology, and ailment communities in healthcare. In many cases there are clear benefits, however it’s not that simple. Is our culture ready to take the time to learn about preventative care? Is rating a doctor something a patient can do accurately beyond beside manner without any medical knowledge? Will medical devices come to market quicker because companies are interacting with social ailment communities? If yes, somebody better tell FDA.

Health care is a complex topic involving the legitimate differences about the interpretation of scientific evidence and the emotional pull of life and death. One of the keynote speakers at HealthCamp Minnesota is Rachele Chrismer who will share an inspirational story about her son’s diagnosis of Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy which took her to 7 different states, many false hopes, and dozens of hours of research.

Lee Aase manager of syndications and social media for the Mayo Clinic will open the program with an overview of the behind the scenes impact social media has had at the Mayo Clinic. Panel members from Blue Cross Blue Shield, AbbeyMoor Medical, Fairview, IHC Health Solutions, CG3 Consulting, Health Grades, and the National Marrow Donor Program, among others. This is a camp format which means the attendees will be encouraged to contribute to the dialogue of each panel. Register for the program here. There is also a welcoming reception for attendees on Friday evening,

1. 1) Tarnished trust – too much nefarious attempts to game the system. (Don’t worry though the government is looking into the matter.
2. 2) Too much stupidity, yes my good social sympathizers I realize stupidity exists everywhere and my stupidity may be another’s genius, however when you are presenting Twitter to a company or a group and the Twitter Trend gets into less than appropriate topics for the audience, (watching out for my personal brand here, let’s just call it R-Rated an then some) it diminishes the attractiveness of the medium – I’m just saying.
3. 3) False expectations unrealized. Companies looking to cut costs rather than understand the social culture that jumped on social media in the Fall of 08 spawn a ton of negative press
4. 4) Societal issue of $$ and influence. Isn’t it ironic how social media has picked up the term influencers and is now facing an issue of ethics related to influence peddling. We need to get to a place in our culture where supporting a family, which includes making money, can be done in a perceived ethical manner online. So why are we getting hung up on disclosure? Oh, that’s right item number 1.

This blog’s headline is Four Things That Can Kill Social Media, not Social Media will Die. Social media is at a plateau. We’ll spend some time at this level of usage until companies and consumers sort out issues like trust, reliability, and whether spending time with social media is a good use of their time and business investment.

My take is in the near term those that jumped on for quick profits and low cost marketing may well drift away as the medium assimilates regular users. Those that value the communities in which they participate will out the social hucksters. The purists may need to compromise on the way corporations realign resources to adopt their own brand culture with that of their social communities. By this I mean, paid blogging is not necessarily a sell out, the economy is changing, and the blogging community should allow its own members to pursue a living out condemnation.

If Society Wants Candor, It Must Change

I would hope that society recognizes companies that own up to mistakes, without undue punishment. If society wants a different relationship with companies in a capitalistic economy, then it and the media need to alter their part in this relationship. The “gotcha” style of journalism or a quick to criticize and/or generalize public may have a different reaction to a company’s candid behavior. That’s right, this includes investor communities as well. If new candor and transparency is not reflected in the stock price, then all this happy transparency talk may be for nothing.

Companies that make an attempt to play by the social web’s culture with a more transparent face to the consumer should also be received in a different light. This new relationship then will feed on itself. Candor becomes recognized in its culture and others will follow. This is how the social web can bring about change and become as much a movement as it is a marketplace. This is the promise of social media as a movement and not a marketplace. It strips the 20th century illusion of brand “perfection” and reveals the people behind the curtain which ultimately is who we interact with in any brand relationship.

The South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX which combines music, film, and Interactive media has become a major destination for trends and social interaction. Sure, it’s a social technology conference, but it’s a music festival and an arts venue.

It’s the kind of event that represents more of what the future will be, collaboration and cross-pollination. Yes, the larger the show the more unwieldy it becomes, but the benefit of mixing the disciplines is a dynamic learning environment. I suggest it represents more of how our government, corporations, and schools are going to restructure for a society that wants less silos of information and more of web (and I don’t mean web-based) approach in the physical world as well.

There is no replacement for being in Austin, TX right now, but there are ways to feel like you are there. Following the events and chatter is simple.

There are RSS feeds from the SXSW conference

Then there is the Twitter Feed for #SXSW

Don’t think SXSW is on the bleeding edge, it’s mainstream enough that National Public Radio has live SXSW coverage of the music venue

There is plenty to see and hear from SXSW at Ustream TV and Blog Talk Radio just search SXSW to see those who are broadcasting live from the event.

If you are attending SXSW what are your turn ons or offs about the festival. Use this widget from Beyond Polls to select from the menu or add to it in your own words. Here is a link to the poll http://qcwidget.com/widgets/5410a1ee2859

I have thought for a long time that for society to gain the maximum benefits from social media many current cultures in a typical corporate structure would need to change. From legal to finance, HR to PR, the ways of the last 100 years would need to change if transparency is to be rewarded, and improvement was to be an accepted continuing process.

I also believe that social media is more a movement than a marketplace. Not just a tool for someone to exploit, but an opportunity to engage in more of our shared humanity. Today, the actions of one courageous healthcare leader solidified that belief.

Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, has been a prolific blog writer since October 2006. Levy’s blog is called Running a Hospital.

On it he has had an open discussion about his hospital, its work, and his own performance. This openness about successes and failures has received acclaim in the press, praise from many and murmurs of dubious wonder from others. I know from speaking with many in healthcare during presentations and meetings there are some who wonder how Levy can get away with being so transparent.

It’s simple, he is about improving, every day, throughout his hospital, profession and life. He is also, it seems, sincere about caring for people, both those in the care of BIDMC and those employees who are on the frontlines of healthcare delivery. This has infected the other cultures around him so that they too are committed to a cause of caring in an environment that rewards improvement.

Paul Levy, President and CEO Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

credit Globestaff/Pat Greenhouse

This however, is not a rose colored glasses story about how social media is improving medicine, while it maybe true, this story is about how social media is making better people of us. It is a story about the human desire to be a part of something larger, to be acknowledged as of value and connecting to each other.

Levy doesn’t use corporate speak; his writing is about real situations, from surgery procedures to improving the use of protective equipment, from the joys of a moonlit backyard to numerous stories of hospital employees.

It is with this foundation of candor, this unprecedented transparency that Paul Levy stood at the front of an auditorium full of employees who came to hear his decision about laying off workers during difficult economic times.

Instead of an announcement, he asked for their opinion of a potential solution that may avoid layoffs. Levy travels his hospital corridors plenty, enough to know how many people it takes to deliver quality care. To keep the level of personnel that he believes necessary to deliver quality care, he asked the following as reported by Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe.

“I’d like to do what we can to protect the lower-wage earners – the transporters, the housekeepers, the food service people. A lot of these people work really hard, and I don’t want to put an additional burden on them. “Now, if we protect these workers, it means the rest of us will have to make a bigger sacrifice,” he continued. “It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits.”

The reaction according to Cullen was “Thunderous, heartfelt, sustained applause. “

The seeds of this applause were sown in the many places and people that Levy has touched. A fertile field for all to see is his blog with hundreds of posts. I believe this body of work, the hundreds of comments, and the dialogue he has participated in with patients, employees, supporters and critics are a measure of the man.

Which brings me to the cultures that need to change, for transparency to work in an organization, there needs to be a mutual respect and a commitment to improve. In reading the comments submitted to the blog from the Boston Globe story, listening is a major quality of Paul Levy. It’s not a coincidence that listening is also an important quality to have in a successful relationship and I believe social media is merely a channel for relationships.

Much of America has a very long way to go to eliminate the culture of “gotcha,” of confrontation, a culture of “keep the info, keep the power.” All these insecurities and tactics of greed will hinder the benefits of what social media can bring to an organization and our society. With each blog post, each honest answer to a criticism, each good idea raised and implemented, the organization becomes stronger.

This defining moment is an example of how powerful social media can be in the hands of people who are committed to make things better. Thank you Paul Levy and the wonderful people of BIDMC.

It is a story replayed across the country, small business struggles to stay afloat, owners don’t take salary, banks don’t give them credit, now what? Every publication is looking for angles on the same theme and so the Wall Street Journal did a piece on JW Hulme a manufacturer of fine leather goods, briefcases, duffle bags, and other luggage items. Yipes.

As a business owner, I’m reading the article in yesterday’s paper half wondering how they are going to get out of this predicament and half hoping it doesn’t happen to me, Double Yipes.

This post doesn’t have the answers to JW Hulme’s financial situation, at least not all of the answers, but my heart and my head have given this issue some time and I’d like to share what they have come up with.

1) The article is a great read, many other reporters will want to retell it, fine. Now, however, is the time, today, to put a blog on your website you basically have had 1 news release a year for the last couple of years. Not enough communication.

Now that you have exposed your story and acknowledged the initial response with a public letter to your customers that appears on your site, keep talking.

You have revealed the human side of JW Hulme through the eyes of co-owners Chuck Bidwell and Jennifer Guarino, there is plenty more we all can learn from you. Better yet, there are plenty more customers, colleagues, business peers and prospects who may want to share their thoughts with you. Let them do it by you fully participating in the social web.

2) Judging by the article, Bidwell and Guarino are of a mind to give back to the community. In a previous position, Bidwell was a proponent of Hero Cards to build local currency in volunteer programs.

Guarino was General Manager of Minnesota Parent a popular magazine with a natural community of engaging people. That magazine has been active in community service. Now it’s once again time to give back, perhaps there are ways to use some JW Hulme inventory to benefit a cause, or because the inventory is relatively high, according to the Journal article, use the manufacturing capacity to make something for an organization. I realize this is not conventional wisdom, doing work that isn’t about generating revenue at a time when revenue is essential, but we don’t live in conventional times nor has conventional wisdom done much for any institution in America right now. It’s a good time to tell conventional wisdom to “take a hike”

3) With all of the mentions in the WSJ article about how JW Hulme uses catalogs and not one mention of online efforts, I thought that might be a problem. After a quick review of JW Hulme’s web presence it has the basics, but there is plenty more to do that doesn’t involve up front payments to printers. No offense, I’m not against the printed, colorful page, but the market seems to be in transition on that one.

4) Lastly, this is an opportunity. WSJ reporter Julie Jargon, did a wonderful piece capturing the left and right brain elements of Bidwell’s and Guarino’s plight. It’s real life without the “reality-TV” spin. It represents the essence of what being social is in today’s market. Will it sell more leather and canvas luggage at a few hundred bucks a pop? I have no idea, but the opportunity I speak of is not that narrow minded (I understand some banker will call narrow mindedness focus). The opportunity I speak of is to open your story up and let the rest of the world engage. You and I have no idea what will result of that opportunity, but you already made the decision to be public on the story. I can tell you my experience from being a part of the social web as a business owner, you have already done the hard part, now you just need to create a way to create a dialogue. Good luck, if you want to have a cup of coffee I’m just up the road from you.

The conversation on Chris Brogan’s blog about personal branding, strip malls and billboards has developed in a way that I think is a bit off the mark. I don’t disagree with Brogan or the comment on the blog post by Christopher Penn that many social sites can and are used as billboards for personal brands.

I much prefer that social networks be viewed as cafes, restaurants and bars along the road. Not franchises, mind you, although you might get that feel from some of them, but unique places in which you’ll meet some unique and some of the same people. To this environment you will add your own experience, commentary and knowledge. You will pose questions that may well inspire others to enlighten the group. You get a little sustenance, bid good day and come back as often as you like. Oh sure, there are plenty who come in trying to sell flowers from table to table, but that’s a bit of a drag for everyone, isn’t it?

Now it may be that you only frequent a few of these places, but doing it in the manner I described above will give social media more value for you and others. When I hear talk about billboards and strip malls, it begins to sound a lot like Web 1.0. The fact is both of these gents, and plenty of men and women around the world, add tremendous value to the social community in exactly the manner I described. We are grateful for it, and as a result do visit their general stores (websites or blogs).

I just think the billboards and strip malls metaphor conjures up images that don’t truly address the enriching and unique experience to be gained from what we have before us. Some may seek to post up a sign and hawk some goods along the way. Me, I enjoy having a cup of coffee and a piece of pie, even a $.99 Margarita when I can find one, with the Brogans and Penns of the world. Their personal brand in social media is what they share with me all along this winding road, not just what’s at their stores.

The airline America loves to love, Southwest, is in a bit of a safety issue with the FAA and Congress. It is reported that some safety inspections were not conducted or planes not grounded. This post is to highlight Southwest’s PR handling of the situation.

As is the tradition of Southwest, they are upfront. Right on the home page of their website is a link to their statement on the story. Excellent. Some would counsel to put it in the news section, let the issue go through a 24-hour cycle and be done.

Compliments to Southwest and their entire team for their candor on the matter. In what appears to be an issue more about paperwork, bureaucracy and miscommunication instead of dangerous conditions. The language being used by media and Congress is predictably emotional: “unsafe,” “threatening safety,” and from Congressman James Oberstar, “one of the worst safety violations.”

The investigation also involves the Whistle Blower Program, which in itself creates an “us versus them” situation and not at a “Let’s see what happened here” investigation.

In addition to the Southwest statement being in position A on the website, the CEO, Gary Kelly, was on CNN this morning and made the expected rounds of media coverage. While this issue must go through its cycle, the initial round, which included Southwest airlines voluntarily disclosing missed inspections last spring, shows Southwest performing in accordance with its image of being upfront with its passengers.

P.S.: And as you’d expect, it’s on the Southwest Airlines Blog as well. Keep us posted, Southwest, and while it’s good to know your passengers are still using you to get away, your PR team is staying put to work professionally through an interesting situation.

My side comment: Blog leader Paula Berg is a class act in any situation. Great work, Paula.

Time 18:33

There is a new medium to report about in this podcast, I’ll call the integrated channel. As the consumers of information fragment their consumption across a variety of media, so too has sophisticated media properties built new outlets for focused topics.

In this podcast we feature a website that illustrates an Integrated Channel, it is www.UnderstandingCancer.tv It is a production of Supportive Oncology Services and Multiplicity Media . What makes this different is it has a clear single focus (in this case cancer), it incorporates expert advice about a complex topic, it has multimedia formats of text, audio, and video, it includes a television channel for greater mainstream distribution (ION television network), and aspects of social media.

Understanding Cancer, the television show will debut on March 9th at 5:30 pm Eastern on the ION television network The website provides a holistic approach for the patient and their families who are facing cancer treatment. That spectrum of coverage also leads to more opportunities for marketers to embrace, not advertise to, but embrace those turning to this website for information and comfort.

In this podcast you’ll hear Liz Conway of Supportive Oncology Services the research entity which reviews the medical information on Understanding Cancer TV and Terry Merrill Wilcox, the producer whose outstanding video packages deliver the information and emotion about a subject many will agree is difficult to discuss.

You can see more about Understanding Cancer TV on MySpace

And Facebook I Support Understanding Cancer TV

More Healthcare and Social Media

Social media is coming to healthcare. Many hospitals and other healthcare providers have ducked the notion of social media, blogs or otherwise, while the rest of the healthcare system is pushing for consumer choice. This has lead to websites like www.healthcarescoop.com and www.carol.com which look more like people commenting on a hotel stay or buying a big screen TV.

A site like Understanding Cancer TV is a way to participate in social media in a non-invasive way. There is no doubt a number of events are making healthcare a more social purchase and experience. The issue for many providers will be how they handle their social presence on the web.

Social Media Conference Deep Dive

NewComm Forum – Society for New Communications Research conference, www.newcommforum.com/2008/ This is an excellent conference to get to the details of how social media and new communications will impact your profession and company or organization. Set in Sonoma County, CA April 22-25 at the The Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa, there will be lively panel exchanges, provocative presentations, and most importantly plenty of 1-on-1 opportunities to bring home concrete information upon which to make decisions on how to interpret social media.

Podcast Timeline

0:00 – 2:00 – Book giveaway with Paul Gillin The New Influencers and preview of Society for New Communications Research conference.

2:00 – 3:00 New book giveaway contest for March The Age of Engage by Denise Shiffman

3:00 – 6:00 Set up about Integrated Channel concept and a frame of reference for this podcast, while it covers Understanding Cancer, the concepts of the Integrated Channel can apply to many other topics beyond healthcare.

6:00 – 17:00 Interviews with Liz Conway and Terry Merrill Wilcox

If you are interested in attending and would like to save $100 send me an email at marketingedge@providentpartners.net for a listeners’ code.

The social media idea path is like watching cells grow and multiply. Here is the exciting path of this idea related to Dunkin’ Donuts and the Super Bowl. Sunday, January 20, I’m on Twitter the night of the Green Bay/New York Giants NFC Championship game. People tweeted about the final moments of the game and upon its conclusion, I started tweeting with my Boston friends who like Dunkin’ Donuts, how that popular east coast franchise can capitalize on the Super Bowl with two teams competing from their two largest markets, Boston and New York City. Those friends included Doug Haslam, Chip Griffin, Geoff Livingston (DC guy but also responded to tweet string), Scott Monty, Sarah Wurrey, and Mike Volpe.

A quick review of the Dunkin’ Donuts website reveals that Dunkin’ has extensive experience working with NFL promotions and even has run contests with both the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Excellent. Dunkin’ Donuts slogan is America Runs on Dunkin’ – Are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?

On Monday, January 21, I thought of an idea and blogged about it on our marketing blog about a Super Bowl contest that ties into the slogan, Dunkin’ Donuts Has a Super Opportunity , the team with the most rushing yards would earn for that market a free something, maybe a Dunkin loyalty card with a free cup of coffee loaded on it or a free coffee during the two hours after the game (you get the picture). I also sent in a link to the idea on the Dunkin’ Donuts website, through customer relations.

on Wednesday, January 23, I received the resonse below. I’ve given the response grades, and invite yours as well. A couple of more data points here. 1) I did not submit to a PR or media inquiry because I did not find an email for one on the site at the time and 2) Dunkin’ Donuts is currently running (pardon the pun) a user generated campaign on You Tube called How Do You Keep America Running.

Here is Dunkin’s reply to our Rushing Yardage contest idea:

Dear Albert,

Ref # 4488839
Here are my grades for their response:

1) Timeliness they at least replied within a couple of days. – A Excellent,

2) Sincerity, it looks like a boilerplate response – C to me some of the copy is a bit condescending , however, I can understand this given that someone might claim rights to an idea, which leads to my next grading topic,

3) Legal cover, nice job lawyers – A

4) Brand loyalty impact, has the response improved your feeling of the brand – B While the response did not uniquely notice the submission, it did attempt to respond in a timely and polite manner and for that Dunkin’ Donuts deserves some credit.

Overall It’s a B, time for another coffee.

Time 31:36

Creative marketing takes time to, well, create, and time to execute. So when I saw a case study about Hubspot’s inbound marketing system on Marketing Sherpa I was intrigued by their approach. Instead of a typical “we are greater than sliced bread” marketing, the Hubspot internet marketingcreated a unique website that invited businesses to use a small part of the Hubspot system. That part of the system is called website grader and businesses by the thousands visited www.websitegrader.com to enter their website. The website is then graded on a series of attributes that search engines look for in ranking sites on a scale of 100. We start this conversation at about the 4:00 mark in this podcast.

Provident Partners, thank God, first pulled an 85, however, still room for improvement. That’s why we have on this podcast Mike Volpe, Vice President of Marketing for Hubspot. We get into the 5 key areas essential to getting a passing grade and increasing the odds you’ll achieve your search ranking goals. And yes, we use the www.providentpartners.net site as the “patient” in this visit to the search engine doctor. Volpe starts this commentary at about the 19:00 mark in the podcast.

5 Key Areas to Improve your website’s rankings are

1) Title on all pages can change
2) Keywords and descriptions meta tags of page content for each page
3) Put blog on a company URL and integrate into your website
4) Domain renewal – sign up for as many years as you can afford
5) Permanent redirect for yourcompanydoman.com and the other for www.yourcompanydomain.com

This Example Can Apply to Other Businesses

Volpe is an excellent marketer who realized Hubspot needed a way to break out in a crowded field of marketing platforms. I believe the tactics used in this campaign can be replicated by other marketers for a variety of product launches, professions and industries. The keys are as follows:

1) Create a web presence that allows prospects to experience part of your product or service.
2) Product needs to have remarkable elements
3) Take the time to understand the interests of the bloggers that write about your space
4) Include was to invite comparison between the status quo and life with your product or service

Some readers might say, well this works for a web-based software product, but how can it apply to other areas. Ok, let me take that one on.

A business consultancy can create an assessment tool in their area of expertise. Technomic Asia a consultant group has an China Readiness assessment tool to measure a company’s ability to compete in the China market.

A winery can have a dinner selection with multiple choice of wines to select, your choice will be compared against what a famous Sommelier recommend with that same meal.

A furniture store, design, or organization consultant can allow users to help themselves using your website. For example Ikea has done a great job with their space planner portion of their website. They depict your space and you manipulate their furniture in it. This is slick and it worked for me two years ago when we redesigned the Provident Partners office space.

If you have other tips on getting good search rankings, we invite you to share them here with other readers.

January 2008 Book Drawing Giveaway

This month we are holding a drawing to win the book The New Influencers by Paul Gillin. Here’s my review of the book posted on Media Bulleye . To be in the drawing, email me at marketingedge@providentpartners.net Good luck. For every entry, comment, and completed survey Provident Partners will donate a food item to a St. Paul, MN food shelter.

Time 32:16

Plenty of attention is given to participating in blogs, join the conversation, be open, be authentic, yada yada yada. The early adopters have tested the social media space with ample case studies for dozens of new books and information for panel discussions.

The hidden winners in the blogosphere who get a fraction of the fanfare are market researchers. This podcast is dedicated to the corporate executives who are skeptics of joining the conversation, but as you’ll hear here, have considerable reason to at least listen to it, it being first the podcast and then the thousands of conversations taking place on the web daily.

Look at just one segment of commentary and social media, www.tripadvisor.com, they have more than 10 million reviews of hotels. Forrester research shows that 36 percent of travelers look at reviews and of them, 73 percent report the reviews affect their choices. More from an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer – It’s just the tip of the iceberg known as the blogosphere, but in reality is a bunch of people talking just like they do at parties, conference rooms, or ball games. The only difference is online, you can listen in on them.

This podcast is the second and concluding episode of a conversation with Umbria founder Howard Kaushansky. Umbria, at www.umbrialistens.com is one of a handful of companies that provide detailed insights into what people are taking about in blogs, and reviewers’ comments on the web and to a great extent who is saying it.

The bottom line is this

1) There are millions of comments being made on the web about nearly every industry or profession.
2) Even if your company has no intention of starting a blog, the comments that exist can provide significant insight into your company, your competitors, and your market.
3) Blogs and social media is not just a playground of the younger generation, middle age baby boomers use social media, blogs, and travel sites just as much as the 18 -24 year old set.

On another note, Marketing Edge listener Alison Coffey is the winner of the Join the Conversation book drawing. Our next book is Paul Gillin’s The New Influencers. To throw your name in the drawing send me an email at marketingedge@providentpartners.net with the words New Influencers in the subject line.

Time 16:00

Jeremiah Owyang, senior analyst for Forrester and author of the well-read Web Strategist blog, is our guest on the Marketing Edge. You know, as of this posting, he is at the top of the Tweeterboard, a ranking of influencers using the microblogging platform Twitter.

In this podcast, we touch upon his big three trends to look for in 2008 and the following items:

-Social media is like jazz: don’t ask, just listen. He explains it better than I can write about it.

-The corporate structure needs to become more flexible if social media is to gain greater status. Owyang believes 2008 will see a rise in the job function of community manager in large companies.

With more than 3,000 followers and friends on Twitter and Facebook, do you wonder how he juggles his day? First rule: Get up early.

We also get into one of my key themes about social media: It’s making companies incorporate some of the best practices of political and grassroots organizations. Listen, be responsive, be sensitive, seek consensus, build your base — those are just a few. Platforms like Twitter help facilitate the movement of people and opinions that give life to ideas. This is the essence of the political democratic process.

As corporations seek a greater understanding of social media, the social graph will play an important role. This is another Owyang prediction for 2008.

Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to invite all your friends to join you on some other social network? Owyang predicts the expansion of widget networks and with it the expansion of the use of social media in 2008.

Lastly, I promised Jeremiah I’d post a link to one of my favorite places in San Francisco, the Buena Vista, home of the Irish Coffee.

Share your comments on this post. For each comment posted, Provident Partners gives a food item to a St. Paul food shelter.

Last call for the drawing of the book “Join the Conversation” by Joseph Jaffe. Send an e-mail to marketingedge@providentpartners.net and we will include you in the drawing. The winner gets a copy of the book with my comments in the margins; it’s our way of continuing the conversation. Get your e-mail in by midnight on Dec. 19.

The following is a conversation between Al Social and Darrin Marketer, their names have been changed to protect the innocent; they are both avid Twitter users with two very different perspectives on the platform. We invite you to interrupt them with your comments.

Al Social – Twitter has done so much to enrich my life.

Darrin Marketer – yeah me too

Al Social – This summer I kept in touch with the family while kayaking the Fjords of Norway, imagine that texting from my phone to post to a blog, website and mobile while in the water.

Darrin Marketer – Yeah, I saved 20% off a computer on Dell outlet

Al Social – New ideas about global warming from Tris Hussey, social media insights from Jeremiah Owyang and Todd Defren. Santa Cause gives twitterers great places to contribute to social change.

Darrin Marketer – it’s the greatest freakin’ opt-in Ad server on the planet, these people are agreeing to follow companies just to get essentially ads pushed at them. I’ve got plenty of clients using twitter to hawk their stuff and getting people to agree to get it.

Al Social – no dude, it’s not about ads it’s about idea exchange. You are just gaming the system. It’s all about the collective of people to advance change.

Darrin Marketer – yeah right, ok I got an idea, let’s get people to follow some company that pushes the latest super bargains for that week, what’s wrong with that? It’s all about me baby, all about me.

Al Social – No no, it’s a snapshot at people’s life is not a bazaar.

Darrin Marketer – that’s where you are wrong my friend, life is a bazaar, and everyone is trying to scrap a piece of turf, a piece of attention. Twitter is just another way to pull the spotlight over to you and there is nothing wrong with that. Oh and your boy Santa Cause, he’s helping promote business, so my friend you just proved my point.

Al Social – Well you are surely not being creative, you’re slapping an old model over a new way of connecting. That’s going to ruin it.

What do you think? Is twitter an opt-in ad server, a social hang out, or both?

I have to comment about Twitter, the micro-blogging tool at www.twitter.com. It is like instant messaging to those whom you are following and who follow you, plus your messages post to your page on the Twitter Web site. You can follow hundreds of people you’ve never met. It’s possible to share a subset of followers with others, but it is unlikely two people will have the exact same set of followers. The messages are usually fast and furious and can be disjointed because not every one has the exact same circle of followers.

Twitter’s prompt for your input is “What are you doing now?” The reason I detail this is to underscore the socialness in this particular platform. Twitter has two unique attributes:

1) it is about the now – quick flashes of ideas, reactions, questions and statements, and
2) it can have a very diverse group of people following each other – it’s less about groups of like-minded “friends” and more about sampling the snapshots of individuals’ lives.

This weekend a well-respected blogger, Marc Orchant, passed away. I read this as I was working and occasionally catching Twitter messages (known as “tweets”). At first I was taken by surprise because this harsh dose of reality is not something you’d expect to see. Then others who where among the people I follow paid their respects to Marc I was aware of Marc’s work on Blognation, but did not know him. I read that he and I were of the same generation. . I said a prayer for his family and friends. That’s when I started to think about “What are you doing now?”

This news caught my attention as I learned Marc has a family, and I reflected about when my mother died. I was 12; she was 41. Another tweet appeared. It was someone going to a party. Another tweet about some social media report, then another tweet about Orchant, and another about some new video platform.

Here I sat, observing exactly what micro-blogging and “What are you doing now?” is truly all about. These unique characteristics of Twitter give a snapshot of life, with a bit more detail in the image. It was like looking out of my grandmother’s apartment building in the Bronx when I was growing up right after my mother died. All around me, regular stuff was going on, just like you can overhear the conversations – a guy buys a newspaper, someone is yelling at the driver of a double-parked car, the elevated train rattles the windows – and for me at that pivotal moment in time, nothing was regular.

This was my first experience online with real-life stuff, not just a discussion of blogging or using video or some conference. It hit home that this forum, Twitter, and other forms of social media are different than most communications media that have come before.

This is not some place to hoist a billboard and pitch your wares. It is a place of ideas, for sure, but equally of emotions. It is a place of lives and, now I can see, a place of memories. Social media is first a people place. Marc, your leadership in this special place will be remembered.

The marketing buzz word in 2007 is community. Marketers are trying to plug into, tap into or leverage these social network communities for their companies’ benefit. Not quite sure that’s the right approach here. Communities can’t be leveraged (one step away from manipulated in my dictionary) to your advantage, that’s old model selling in an environment that essentially rejects being sold to.

Chris Brogan makes a good point about power and the social media tools available for the individual to increase their personal power. http://chrisbrogan.com/social-media-as-personal-power/. I believe marketers should view the growth in these powers not as a function of tapping into, but as an environment to participate in. The verbs I used above, tap, plug, and leverage all involve in varying degrees to take from. It’s best to approach this as something to engage in, join, and contribute to. Subtle difference that will enhance the participation for any marketer evaluating what social media means to their company. I also commented to Brogan’s post.

The technology dilemma: New technologies are developed quickly and less costly today than even 10 years ago. New technology implementation requires the precise work of three groups: path finders, bridge builders and commoditizers.

1) Path finders: They forge a wild river. They develop for the joy of a challenge and/or the dream of wealth. Many times they traverse to unknown places. They prudently cut a path with precision moving toward a desired destination. They may not know exactly where they are going, but they are learning and discovering with every step.

2) Bridge builders: These are the ones who help the masses on the populated side of the river come across. They painstakingly educate those fearful of going over the bridge and in some cases hope they don’t loose sight of the path finders.

3) Commoditizers come along with the masses and build different uses for technologies that have become common. They help drive the price down, expand usage and, with it, less risk in implementing that technology in a typical business.

The issue that Jeremiah Owyang of the Web Strategist Blog raises in his Utterz post from Nov. 29 is whether the technologists are moving too fast. In my parlance, are the path finders rushing ahead so fast that they are in danger of being alone in the wild?

The pace of what technologists can do is outracing how significant portions of the population can use it or can pay for it. The question technologists and consumers should answer jointly is: Can the new technologies be applied to provide sufficient value that it is worth changing from what we do now?

Social media and different issues than the 90s:

• A more fragmented market, which could mean less total revenue per technology
• Less costs, which potentially mean higher profits per technology
• Insanely short product life-cycles, putting all technologies in danger of being overtaken
• Potentially misunderstood brand power of technology, when the real asset is the communities

The Bar Syndrome

What would make me the most nervous as an investor? Understanding exactly what the asset is and how will that asset sustain itself and grow. I believe a good metaphor is that many of these social media technologies are like investing in a bar or restaurant. If that establishment can be replicated to attract enough people, then you’ve got a winning franchise. If, however, the people are fickle or a new bar opens down the street with better looking, livelier people, then what is left?

The accessories

We are to the point of application accessories; widgets is the accepted term. The issue is how these accessories are going to be paid for. An interesting question formed in the negative, just to make it more painful: What two technologies can you give up today?

A typical business with an abundance of meetings, limited budgets and cautious management needs time just to understand how these technologies are going to add value to the company. Patience is a virtue. Will the marketplace reward patience?

I worked at a venture capital firm in the 90s. There were companies working on 360-degree images of shopping malls, med-tech applications for desktop radiological reading, and video-on-the-Web capabilities. It was just a question of timing more than applications. Those ideas are well in place today and profitable.

History does help predict the future; we just need the patience for the future to catch up with us.

Time 12:56

The first stop for marketers who are attempting to determine how to approach social media is to listen to the conversations taking place on the web. Most executives are going to ask, what are people saying about our company or our industry? Who are they and does it matter to us?

While the numbers for social networking are mind boggling, an estimated 60 million users on Facebook alone, the perplexing issue for marketers that have must justify their spending is what is the impact to the company, will it grow sales, brand, influence? Or conversely, will not being there hurt us in some way?

In this podcast we highlight one company that can help answer those questions. Umbria, who can be found at www.umbrialistens.com. There tools search blogs, product review comments, and other social media sites looking for company mentions and more importantly context. For example, it is not good enough to learn that Starbucks was mentioned, but that a woman having a bad day found a moment of peace over an egg nog latte at Starbucks. Now that is listening. Umbria industry reports include healthcare, consumer electronics, and other industries

For those into the viral marketing concept, whether Umbria or a strategy that includes alerts and watches from Google, Technorati, Digg and others, the key is having a process that puts your ear to the ground – sorry had to use a cliché somewhere in this piece. Other tools include Sentiment Metrics and Cymfony, there are plenty of choices. Ths issue is with growing numbers of participants in social media, this tactic should be on your 2008 coporate marketing budget.

Do you have a strategy for listening to social media? What tactics do you find helpful?

Join the Conversation Giveaway

Joseph Jaffe’s book Join the Conversation is a good one. Well worth the read. We are giving away a copy with my comments included in the margins. It’s my way of joining the conversation – email me at marketingedge@providentpartners.net with Conversation in the subject line. We’ll have a drawing for the winner on December 19.

Giving Back

Every comment and email we get Provident Partners donates a food item to a St. Paul food shelter. Last month 24 items were donated. Thanks for sharing.

Time 18:45

The old maxim “you don’t argue with the guy who buys ink by the barrel” isn’t as accurate as it once was. The combination of blogs, new online publishers like TechCrunch and the Huffington Post, and social media sites are creating new opportunities for professional and unpaid journalism.

The key to social media’s success is voices. The dilemma for social media is finding and determining the valuable content of those voices for you. Helium.com is a Web site designed for long-form written content and has an interesting way of sorting out what’s valuable. The site attracts those who have a desire to write, and its 90,000 members rate the articles on the site, giving all readers some guidance on the quality of the content.

This community grading apparatus rewards objective, accurate articles and banishes self-promoters to the valley of propaganda. (There really is no such place on Helium.com. That was my editorial license to say that garbage articles are ranked at the bottom.)

It’s a combination social media community, wiki (kind of ), blog and content provider. There is also a way for other publishers of Web sites and print publications to post requests for articles. Writers then submit articles for that particular topic for the publisher to potentially purchase. It is like a job board that matches buyers of articles to providers of content. Hey, it might not be enough money to quit your day job, but it is a way to fulfill a passion, share knowledge, and build your expertise and writing portfolio.

Helium.com also allows for contributions to non-profit groups, including Teachers Without Borders and Collegiate Society of America, as articles are purchased. It’s the concept of giving back to the community for writers as well as tapping into those non-profits as sources of quality articles.

Communicators should review this site as another step in determining the social media strategy. These are the interesting attributes of Helium.com:

• Source for industry trends across tens of thousands of topics
• Venue for your ideas and passion
• Potential revenue if articles are purchased
• Establish greater credibility as a writer
• Give exposure to issues that are not being covered in the mainstream media
• Plant the seeds of debate that others nurture -– that, after all, is the essence of social media

Marketing Edge Holiday Giveaways: Yippeee!

1. Society of New Communications Research Symposium VIP (very impressive pricing) in Boston December 5 and 6: Give a look at the agenda at www.sncr.org/symposium and if you want to go, e-mail me at marketingedge@providentpartners.net and I’ll send you codes for a little dough off the top.

2. Join the Conversation book giveaway contest: Joseph Jaffe’s latest book is the talk of the Amazon charts, and we will give a copy away on Dec. 19, with an added bonus. In the spirit of joining the conversation, I have included written commentary in many of the chapters. It’s the ultimate form of keeping the conversation going. Send me an e-mail with “Conversation” in the subject line and you’ll be included in the random drawing.

3. Movie trivia in this podcast episode: Listen toward the end of the podcast for a sound clip from a movie. Tell me what movie you think it came from and we’ll give one person who provides the correct answer a $10 Subway gift card. Hint: It’s a classic! Either send me an e-mail or submit your answer in the comment section.

NOTE: Provident Partners donates a food item for every comment (on the blog or by e-mail) we get. Our monthly budget for this community program is $100/month.

A word about trust on in the blogosphere and social media in general:

There is considerable discussion about how businesses can tap into these conversations. Another angle is the practice of paying bloggers, which some say is no different than paying ghostwriters of a book.

All of the above will be tested during the next couple of years as society continues to use social networks and other sites that have “word of mouth”-like components. A key to figuring out how business can use social media is to understand why social media is different than any other media.

Social media is a movement. Social media is a people place, not a market place.

The blogosphere has had millions participate because of a need to be recognized, even by just one other person. Social media has taken hold in equal numbers because of the need to be a part of a group, the need to connect. These are basic human needs, not driven by economics.

There is also a cynicism in the U.S. that I believe has contributed to the rejection of most forms of advertising, a growing distrust of corporations and a political system viewed as destined to be at odds for the foreseeable future.

The major structures of our society — financial, legal, and political — have their roots deep in the last century of ridged, industrial growth and are not yet capable of appreciating or assimilating a more open discussion created by social media.

If you are a marketer, a business, and look at social media from the perspective of it being a movement, it will change the way you approach social media. You will be a participant rather than a party-crasher, a thoughtful listener rather than a loud bore, and a valuable contributor rather than a self-serving taker.

Blogs that contributed to my thinking on this were:

• PR-Squared
• Web Strategist
• Doc Searls on the intention economy (at Stowe Boyd’s /Message blog)

What’s your take? Make a choice: Is social media more movement or marketplace? Remember, every comment we get we will contribute a food item to a St. Paul food shelter.

The undercurrent at BlogWorld is churned by the sudden absence of noted bloggers and a lack of blogging on the part of some CEOs whose companies depend on bloggers.

OK, no worries, sports fans, because there are plenty more of us here and out there. Now, that’s the power of social media. This post is not to recount the reasons why these new media, this new industry — whatever you’d like to call it — needs to be more mature. Jeremiah Owyang and Chris Brogan, among others, have done a good job of that.

This slant is to underscore what Leo Laporte said in the keynote: Paraphrasing, the medium is about everyone, not limited by format, money, subscribers, nothing. A new blog hero can rise to fill the shoes of someone that has lost interest. Mark Cuban’s, a replacement keynoter, a pretty good hero to have. Go Mavs.

What corporate types should watch for from this conference speed bump is how quickly the community dialogues, supports and gives voice to those who might be in the shadows today and the spotlight tomorrow. Yes, dialogues. And this same reaction can happen to any brand, product, and issue, at any time, even our own. Perhaps the next one will be yours.

What’s your take? Is this blogging world really information anarchy or the somewhat unpredictable result of when people of various opinions disagree?

The panel from BlogWorld on “Tracking Reputation in the Blogsphere” provided excellent insight into how corporate skeptics can make sense of new-media junkies’ hype about online conversations. More importantly, determining in a methodical analysis whether those conversations are something for corporate execs to be concerned about or join.

The ability to listen to the conversations taking place online is of the greatest value to companies. The reason is that they don’t need to be told about losing control of their brand, which can drive brand managers and CEOs insane. They don’t need to come up with frequent content that makes people happy or to write responses to blog posts, which can drive marketers to drink (more than they currently do).

No, the ability to listen to the conversation plays to the corporate desire and history for research. The corporate structure appreciates research of markets, research of competitors, and research of potentially new product demands.

It is also a way to validate whether there are conversations going on that company leaders should care about. An example would be if a brand manager, VP of a line of business, or product development manager was handed a report that said, “In the month of April, there were 25,000 mentions of your product on 250 blogs and user review sections. Twenty-five percent of those mentions were negative, 50 percent positive and 25 percent neutral.”

Take that the to the next level of detail by highlighting the context of those conversations.

One of the presenters on the panel was Howard Kaushansky, president of Umbria, who highlighted how conversations can be ascertained though sophisticated language processing and searching of blogs and other social networks, such as MySpace and, soon, Facebook.

Excellent presentation, as you can see the level of detail available with some of these tools. Companies need to understand the wealth of information that will increase enormously during the next 2 years and can be analyzed, if corporate executives looks at the blogsphere as a research resource and not just a play thing for MySpacers.

This interview with Howard, called “Listen to Conversations,” has a case in point about how consumers purchasing a pair of jeans labeled themselves. For example, Gen Xers have moved into the “fit” category as opposed those who label themselves as caring about the labels they wear. Another example in this conversation with Howard is how you can pick out mentions within the body of a blog. So, for example, if a blog about parenting mentions that the mom or dad had a great pumpkin latte at Starbucks, Umbria brings that mention to light and gives it some context.

Click on the Utterz player at the right or click here to listen to that interview.

What is your take on whether companies can gain value from just listening to the conversations, especially if they are skeptical of participating?

Chris Heuer points out how an enterprise wiki building company, Social Text, has in its product plan that their product will be produced in conjunction with its customers. This is a change from business plans of old. Heuer is eye-opening in this presentation. Why? Because the net result of such a product development paradigm over the long term, is happier clients, a more innovative future, and products that are driven by demand.

I realize in the busy days of a corporate marketing exec, having been one, that you want a turn-key solution. But in this social media landscape, there is no template formula. There are tools that make the job of working within the social media space efficient, but there is no quick fix for engaging in conversation. That takes time.

Marshall Kirkpatrick talked about podcasting as being a medium that will continue to grow. “My dog loves podcasts,” he exclaims. No he doesn’t have smarter dogs that listen to them (or do you Marshall?). He just listens to podcasts while walking the dog.

Audio is the medium that gives you time to think and the convenience of being passive. It’s a beautiful thing for communicating in a variety of circumstances.

Paul Dunay, on the panel about how to integrate social media into your marketing mix, focused on wikis and has some keys to look for. I’m paraphrasing here; Paul, clarify in comments if you need to.

• It should be two-way dialogue
• Shared opinions are good things
• Wikis can help engage early adopters and encourage thought leadership
• Starting internally with a wiki can build a foundation for your external-facing social media tactics
• Bring in IT at the beginning of the project discussion to get their buy in and expertise

Maggie Fox, on the same panel as Dunay, highlighted Mozilla’s launch of Firefox. Mozilla leveraged its users, which exponentially expanded the marketing department by essentially creating a suggestion box that generated both good ideas and advocates for the product — a winning combination for Firefox. It went from 0 percent market share in 2004 to more than 35 percent market share in September 2007.

The panel also included Tom Gerace, CEO of Gather.com, and Andy Beal, contributor to the Marketing Pilgrim blog.

As I listened to this excellent panel, it struck me that there are several parallels between being a corporate marketer and the job of communications strategy for a political candidate or public policy initiative.

Social media, by definition, requires:

• Listening to constituents (or customers or prospects)
• Responding (or not) to critics
• Communicating and building supporters
• Taking into consideration the larger environment in which the company and its communications initiatives exist

I remember when I was in Washington, D.C., as press secretary for the Republican National Committee. The radar was always listening for critics, and the supply lines were always full of talking points to funnel the grassroots support network.

Today’s social media campaign should go through a similar process of thoughtful messaging and coalition (community) building, with an abundant portion of patience to listen, and sensitivity to provide timely and responsible responses.

After a few days to let things settle and let me think (and as the story now bubbles up to the New York Times), here are a few observations about Chris Anderson’s post about blocking a group of PR people from e-mailing him and the subsequent comments:

PR lessons

1. College communications and PR professors should make this post mandatory reading. Don’t send e-mail to a reporter if you haven’t read some of his work. Repeat this mantra throughout your school years and into the workforce, if in fact there is such a thing as “pitching reporters” five or so years from now.

2. CEOs of PR firms need to evaluate the structure of the process that allows such e-mail tactics. By that I mean revenue model, client demands, training, mid-level oversight, database compilation — everything in your firm. There are dozens of reasons for sloppy pitches. Uncover them.

3. Use Anderson’s comments to your advantage. Show your clients (particularly the most demanding ones) that if they can’t generate real news and you can’t package what they have in a way that is interesting to the audience of your specific outlets, that’s not something a longer or more “big-name filled” media list can fix. Period. It’s a product issue, not a PR issue.

We’ve been in situations where the client says, “Call Walt Mossberg and get in there.” The correct response is to point out what Walt Mossberg requires to even be considered, then work to make those qualities a reality for your client. Not until your client walks the walk can you expect someone like Mossberg and Anderson to talk your talk.

4. Media databases are fine as a starting point, but just like any list, they’re not perfect. Having said that, Chris Anderson’s pitching tips as listed in Cision’s MediaSource as of Nov. 5, 2007, clearly state that his preferred method of contact is snail mail, that he should not be sent pitches when there’s an appropriate editor on staff, and that news releases should be sent to the magazine’s general e-mail address.

Now, the main email address is listed as editpress@wiredmag.com. I trust that the main e-mail as listed in Bacon’s — Cision; hate the new name — is not going to Chris’ inbox. If it is, then that’s a problem, eh?

And it says mail, as in snail mail. That’s great. The guy says he doesn’t even want an e-mail. Why? I bet it’s because it’s too simple to send him crapola when using e-mail. Here’s an idea: Actually hand-write him a note. A technology editor pitched with a hand-written note — that’s rich. But the point is, he’s eventually going to “black-list” folks that way, too, by never opening his paper mail again. It’s the message that matters, not the medium.

5. The media are changing. PR folks, maybe you don’t need these publishers anyway. If you have a good story, tell it yourself. Tell it by being a part of the discussion on the Web, and if the publishers want to write about that content, then they will find you. I’ve seen this work first-hand: no pitches, no calls, no lists. Just follow up between reporter and client directly as a result of blogs or podcasts. Let whoever wants it come and get it. PR is dead. Long live PR.

6. There are great PR firms on this list: Weber Shandwick, Fleishman-Hillard, Edelman, Tunheim. I’m sure they have opportunities to break stories. Is Wired the only outlet? Of course not. Perhaps Fast Company will get the first call the next time one of these firms has an interesting story. In the old days, it was said that you shouldn’t argue with the guy who buys ink by the barrel.

Well, Times — I mean, times — have changed, and now lots of people buy bandwidth by the megabit. If you’re really upset about this public chastisement, there are plenty of ways to re-evalaute the media landscape. While I don’t necessarily recommend this option, it sure might give some people satisfaction.

7. A warning to those PR pros pounding their chests about not being on the list and condemning those that were: If it’s open season on any person and any e-mail, it can be you next week in some other blog. Yes, there is a lesson here and it may be this: Who needs PR firms if they are going to make a mistake that some intern inside a company trying to get free press would make?

8. On the other side of number 7 is this: Only use PR firms who have relationships. Really? You mean that even if your client has a garbage story, your buddy Chris is going to write about it? I mean, you have a relationship, don’t you?

Crazy, isn’t it? If it were only about relationships, then, as a result of Anderson’s post, PR rates should double for those firms who claim to have them.

On that issue, I found a disclosure on Chris Anderson’s blog that is noteworthy:

The list of my potential and real conflicts is impossibly long and I find it arbitrary to only list the conflicts that involve money (such as a paid speaking gig), since the friendships are much more likely to influence me. So for those of you who care about such things, be forewarned: I don’t follow (or believe in) j-school standards of impartiality. The only thing I will promise is that I have no financial stake in the future prospects of companies I write about, which means no investments of any kind in them. If I praise them it will be because I’m honestly impressed, not because I hope to share in their financial success.

Chris doesn’t follow (or believe in) j-school standards of impartiality and his friendships are much more likely to influence him. Hmmm — good to know.

One last note here: Chris Perkett, president of Perkett PR, outlines how one of her firm’s people ended up on the list in this comment on Chris’ original post. If the story is true, then including this person on the black-list is just not right. While being frustrated is understandable, including someone that has had an e-mail exchange with him in the past is wrong.

To Chris Perkett: Well said, though I don’t think it will do much good.

Time 14:43

OK, let me put social networks into some kind of perspective so those that have a life beyond the Web can appreciate the concept:

So you’re having a baby. I understand, having five children myself, that women get together for a baby shower and talk about baby stuff. That stuff might include some of the experienced mothers sharing the joys of an early epidural or the sense of victory they have when scoring a great sale at Baby Gap. It could also be the expectant mother asking about C-sections or the complications of having twins. (Tell me about it: I almost fainted when I heard we were getting two for the price of, well, eh…two.)

Now those same conversations and more are taking place both down the street and on the Web at sites like Real Savvy Moms. This site also includes medical experts taking mothers questions and — oh, yes — plenty of things to buy, if necessary.

Those babies grow up, and drive cars, and go out well too late at night. And when they do (in Minnesota’s Twin Cities) they share their experiences (well, not all of them, but just the ones they want to share) at Vita.mn. The site is a networking hub of sorts for night life, culture and entertainment. And of course, the concept is that a restaurant, band, theatrical play, etc. that is recommended is worth experiencing. It’s true: “Everybody is a critic.”

And if you thought you have seen it all, there are 448 members of the Handbell community on Ning.com. (You need to be invited to be a member; those who don’t play handbells need not apply.)

Emarketer.com has an interesting report by Comscore showing that heavy users of social networking sites are heavy users of online retail Web sites. It describes the top 10 categories of products that are most active among online retail users of social networking sites (which proves you can lead a horse to water).

Give me more social networking

If you wish to drink more social networking water, then consider Blog World and New Media Expo, November 7-9 in Las Vegas. Excellent line up all three days, and there’s also a two-day conference package.

The variety of tracks lets attendees focus on a clear path to greater understanding, whether it’s the early-adopter jumping into the medium with both feet or the skeptic that is just trying to figure out what all this stuff means for their next marketing management meeting. Give a look-see.

If you are going, ping me at amaruggi@providentpartners.net and perhaps we can get together. You know, socially.

How do I reach all of these social networkers?

Lotame (LOW-tuh-mee) is one way. Lotame calls its audience analytical technology “Crowd Control.” The interview in this podcast with Lotame’s president, Andy Monfried, highlights how advertisers can reach users of social media sites within the topic areas important to both advertiser and user. After all, that’s the beauty of how technology and communities are progressing: It’s offering information to a person who is more likely to value that information as a enhancement to their knowledge base instead of considering it a chunk of time to be Tivo’d from their mind — if, in fact, it even made it that far.

Profiling can be a good thing, even for the consumer. Crowd Control can show the degrees of interest in a user’s participation with information and social sites of a certain topic and, like magic (well, kinda), more information is presented that the user values. This technology is best suited for midsize and large enterprises. Lotame’s Web site is directed to publishers and advertisers.

Time 7:58

Karen O’Brien, a partner with the Crimson Consulting Group constructs a new way for marketers to evaluate the customer landscape. O’Brien says the outdated description of acquiring customers is to acquire, retain and grow them. Web 2.0 technologies, social media and the abundance of conversations taking place on the Web about products and services have painted a new perspective of the market.

That perspective, according to O’Brien, is attract, engage and extend. Her work won the Marketing Thought Publishing contest sponsored by the Silicon Valley chapter of the American Marketing Association.

I agree with Karen — and with that change comes the uncomfortable reality for marketers, CEOs and sales people that they don’t have control of their brand, as was once thought. One can make the case that companies never controlled their brand. People talked about their negative and positive experiences just as much as they do now. The difference is the proverbial backyard fence is replaced the Web and today their opinions are received by more than the next door neighbor and Aunt Mildred. Nothing against Aunt Mildred.

In this podcast, we discuss the Forrester social media ladder and an excellent example of corporate blogging policy at Sun. O’Brien will be speaking at the Online Market World event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on October 3.

Live blogging is cool, but is it rude when you are in the middle of someone’s presentation? Hmmm, my parents would think so. Instant reaction is great theater, but should it be the stuff thoughtful blogs are made of? Are you looking for the silver-bullet marketing tactic or the next big thing? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

In this podcast, I chat with Greg Verdino, VP of emerging channels at Digitas and digital marketing seer (yup, a thoughtful guy and it’s not because he has the same hairline as Seth Godin) about dealing with these issues.

Bottom line for Greg: Every company needs to have a deliberate social-media strategy. These venues — blogs, podcasts, and all the other next big-thing things — are not something to be treated as one-off pilot projects. They should be considered as part of a holistic approach, one that seeks first to understand how the individuals that make up a company’s market are using the new media and then to understand what benefits can be reaped by the company from using some or all of them.

Greg is the author of the informative blog found at www.gregverdino.typepad.com.

Greg and I will be speaking at the Business Smart Tools conference on May 15. So will other marketers from General Motors, Xerox, and answerYES Interactive, among others. Provident Partners is giving away two more passes to this event. E-mail us at MarketingEdge@providentpartners.net. The senders of the first two e-mails we receive will be as lucky as Scott Monty of Boston, who won a pass to the conference in last week’s drawing.

We’re also giving away Seth Godin’s latest literary gem on marketing, The Dip. We will name names of the winners soon, and the book is due out May 10. For every e-mail we receive for these giveaways, and for every comment on our blog, Provident Partners will give a food item to a local food shelter.

Podcast length: 12:25

Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall in the conversation between a big company’s CMO and the general counsel on whether the company should have a blog? I would love it. You have that chance by listening to David Ritter’s presentation at Social Media 2007, a conference for marketers and corporate communication leaders sponsored by Business Capital Edge. The conference takes place April 5 and 6 at the Sheraton in downtown Chicago.

David is an attorney with the firm Neal Gerber and Eisenberg. His presentation — “My employees are blogging: What do I do next?” — has received excellent reviews, and he is our guest on this episode of the Marketing Edge. I’m a cautious counselor on blogging, and David’s presentation is a must for any marketer approaching the “blog now!” Kool-Aid punch bowl. This podcast outlines some of the many parameters marketers need to consider before even approaching a conversation with other senior managers about blogging. There is also room in this debate for those responsible for human resources, as well.

Also, be sure to register for our contest. We’re giving away two full-ride registrations to Social Media 2007. Just complete this quick seven-question form.

Here are a few excellent sites and resources for corporate/employee blog policies, just to whet your appetite:

• IBM’s blogging policy
• Plaxo’s blogging policy
• Sun’s blogging policy
• Business Blog Wire: general articles on the topic
• “The Corporate Blogging Book” by Debbie Weil

Social Media 2007 preview: Nuts about Southwest Airlines Blog

In another preview of the Social Media 2007 conference, I chat with Paula Berg, manager of public relations and strategic communication at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines joined the blogosphere in April 2006, and the blog immediately took off with customers and is flying high today.

The corporate blog at Southwest Airlines is used as a tool to provide a glimpse into the company’s culture and also creates an opportunity for employees to communicate directly and informally with customers. It represents the best practices of corporate blogging, reflecting the company’s culture and leadership. With its customer participation and two-way communication, the blog exemplifies what I call “embrace marketing.” Embrace marketing is fairly straightforward: Embrace your customers and their ideas; they will in turn embrace you back.

The driving force behind the Southwest blog is the customer. Paula believes the blog should reflect the whole company, not just one individual, and that the culture within the blog should remain intact, no matter who the CEO might be.

Today’s podcast covers:

• Why Southwest chose to launch a public blog
• Lessons learned along the way
• What parameters or policies should be in place?
• What steps are being taken to help the blog stay strong?

The Social Media 2007 conference, sponsored by Business Capital Edge, is being held April 5 and 6 in Chicago. It will cover essential issues about corporate blogging and podcasting and will include presentations from Southwest Airlines, attorney David Ritter, and examples in my presentation of how companies are using podcasting in B2B and B2C environments.

Provident Partners and the Business Capital Edge are promoting this great event by giving away two registrations to the conference. Complete the seven-question form to enter the drawing. If you’re curious about whether your company can benefit from integrating blogs or podcasts into your marketing mix, this is an excellent conference to attend. It will save hours of research and put you in touch with those who have first-hand experience with these new social media.For more information and to register, go to Provident Partners Social Media 2007.

Want to help out a food shelter? Contribute! Give us some feedback by leaving a comment on the blog, e-mail us at marketingedge@providentpartners.net or call us at 651-695-0174. We will donate a food item for each comment we get. Thanks for listening.

The Social Media 2007 conference, sponsored by Business Capital Edge, is being held April 5 and 6 in Chicago. It will cover essential issues about corporate blogging and podcasting and will include presentations from Southwest Airlines, attorney David Ritter, and examples in my presentation of how companies are using podcasting in B2B and B2C environments.

Provident Partners and the Business Capital Edge are promoting this great event by giving away two registrations to the conference. Complete the seven-question form to enter the drawing. If you’re curious about whether your company can benefit from integrating blogs or podcasts into your marketing mix, this is an excellent conference to attend. It will save hours of research and put you in touch with those who have first-hand experience with these new social media.

More on corporate blogging from the Social Media 2007 blog and our earlier podcast, the “Great Blog Debate.”

This year the talk is about how marketers can either leverage or participate in social media. I use the two words to indicate a school of thought. The “leverage” school I’ll define as more aggressive, more sales oriented. The “participate” school I define as one in which the marketer is on equal footing with others in the social group. This second school requires a different perspective for marketers and management within corporate America.

For example, blatant sales blogs that don’t disclose their corporate sponsors or connections to a PR firm are often exposed for attempting to deceive the reader. Corporate blogs don’t succeed at trying to be passed off as objective, consumer-generated conversations. Instead they cast doubt on blogs in general.

Those companies seeking to participate in social media do so first by changing their perspective of “typical” marketing. This change requires a dialogue, not one-way communication, and a commitment to realize that companies don’t control the message and certainly don’t control the market’s perception of them. Instead, marketing is conduit for dialogue of mutual reward. The company gets first-hand opinions from their audiences, and the audience gets a candid discourse with the company.

Each party has a responsibility to be civil, and the result of this environment greater trust, better product information, and stronger relationships to the brand. This type of relationship is not for every company, and that’s what most marketers are trying to figure out: Is it right for my company?

The top issue in 2007 for marketers is trust. The confluence of social media, aggressive marketers and the community of the blogsphere is creating a whirlpool of contentious issues. The bottom line here is trust, and whether marketing will taint the blogsphere, which people are increasingly using to exchange information and ultimately, make buying decisions.

This podcast highlights how social media are going through a phase where marketers are going to be challenged to use tactics that do not harm the objective nature of individuals communicating. We’ve seen several instances of flogs (fake blogs, or commercial blogs that are posted as if they were from truly objective, unattached people/employees) being publicly criticized for trying to come off as an unsponsored forum, Edelman and Wal-Mart being perhaps the most infamous. (Blogger Constantin Basturea has a wonderful chronology.) There will be further concern about whether companies should blog and how they should do it.

In this podcast, Nora Paul, director of the Institute for New Media Studies at the University of Minnesota, outlines how the area between promotion and program are now one large shade of gray. However, she says this is no different than the expansion and contraction the Web has seen before.

Ben Popken, editor of The Consumerist, a cutting-edge blog on consumer complaints and praise (subtitled “Shoppers bite back”), sheds light on how some leading companies can capitalize on trust. His take: If companies can take a little public criticism, then they will get back trust ten-fold.

Also, I’ll be speaking at the New Communications Forum in Las Vegas, March 7-9, and one lucky marketer will win a trip to attend the Forum for free. Visit www.providentpartners.net/forum for details and to enter your name to win airfare, hotel and event registration.

Show notes:

• 1:00-2:15: New Communications Forum trip drawing information
• 2:20-8:00: The issue of trust – the gray area between promotion and programming. Why marketers should care about the erosion of trust and how to prevent it using social media. Interview with Nora Paul of the University of Minnesota’s Institute for New Media Studies.
• 8:00-9:15: Consumers hold more power than they realize. How companies can tap into this power and leverage it will be tested throughout this year. Ben Popken of consumerist.com explains how those companies can give up some message control and gain a major differentiator by using blogs.
• 9:15-10:52: More information about the New Communications Forum. Each comment we receive by any means – on the blog, by phone at 651-695-0174, e-mail marketingedge@providentpartners.net – we will donate a food item to a local food bank. Social media for the greater good!

[tags]blogs, trust, NewComm Forum, Consumerist[/tags]