Digital Hive

Dean Whitney on Social Media - check it out

Check out this Omnisia presentation of Dean Whitney's social media deck (presented at Bentley a few weeks ago). A great primer on what's up today with social media and how brands can be leveraging.....

Social networking gives your marketing extra punch

Check out this great article in WSJ.com (reg. req'd., download PDF of article below) about how Etsy is using social networking to put its business on steroids.

(You might remember the post I did about Etsy last November about how Etsy was leading the "buy hand crafted" movement for holiday)

As I am constantly saying, I think there's quite a robust future in the combination of 3 really crucial interactive consumer behaviors: shopping for and buying stuff (selling too, frankly); social networking; and e-commerce. We have brought a number of HoneyShed ideas (not all "porntastic," I must note) to clients because we believe in this combo.

Rob Kalin, the founder of Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Etsy (pictured above), says, "What it means for us is that we don't have to spend anywhere as much money on marketing because there are all of these avenues for people to spread the word and talk about what we do."

"I'm not interested in controlling [members'] conversations," Mr. Kalin says, "just [in] giving them a more personalized space to have them in."

A great story about how tapping into social networking can help build a business - I highly recommend this read.

Download wsj_esty_social_networking.pdf

Joining the conversation - it's finally time, people

I came across a really interesting AdWeek piece by Joseph Jaffe, Crayon's ringmaster (the visual is dueling Jaffes: real world and Second Life versions). The piece is called "Marketing's big bang theory - why so many campaigns that begin with a sizzle end with a fizzle."

These excerpts lay out the gist of his argument:

"Marketing today is like a spectacular fireworks display. Short-lived and breathtaking. Unforgettably forgettable. The Macy's July 4th fireworks display might as well be the Super Bowl. (Take the test: Can you name 10 brands that advertised in this year's big game?) All our efforts seem to be front-loaded into launching with a bang. In order to break through the prototypical clutter, we have to take over our prospects' lives, leaving no stone unturned, nowhere to to hide.

"Today, we all chase the elusive and marketing-weary consumer with the blind ambition of buzz or viral success. We spam bloggers with form e-mails, use shock tactics to get millions of pimple-faced teenagers to Digg, rate, refer or spoof us. And when all else fails, we resort to sex, babies, bunnies or puppies in order to entice the suspecting public to remember us for all the wrong reasons.

Social media - agencies aren't getting it

Check out the typically droll Greg Verdino's review of an AdWeek article (reg. req'd) which says clients think agencies "don't get" social networking.

Quoting Verdino quoting AdWeek (this is fun!):

"TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony polled more than 60 marketers in North America, France and the U.K. to gauge how they are faring navigating the world of social media. It asked them for feedback on their agencies' abilities to help. TNS found, in its words, 'Agencies don't get it.'

Social vs. profit - try both?

This post by Piers Fawkes really caught my attention (thanks to my old buddy Greg Verdino for the tip). Piers has an interesting theory about the future of business - that it will be much more about "social" and much less about profit, in fact it'll probably be 50/50 of each. He defines this new "50/50 corporation:"

To leverage the opportunities that digital connectivity has fueled a company should be a 50/50 Corporation. 50% about being social, 50% about making profit. By doing so, that organization should attract more profit than a company that follows a 100% Profit strategy. Being 50% social doesn’t have to be all about having a social network. Having a corporate social responsibility policy that your customers love should work too.

Stop thief!! Being someone else while social networking

I found an interesting post from Piers Fawkes about a recent WSJ article (reg. req'd). Topic: identity theft on social networking sites. The twist: thieves aren't seeking money, it's cooler profiles they're after.

According to the WSJ "among the 125 million people in the U.S. who visit online dating and social-networking sites are a growing number of dullards who steal personal profiles, life philosophies, even signature poems...
A search on MySpace.com brought up more than 700 recent comments that accuse others of stealing headlines, user names, songs, background designs and entire profiles. In a recent survey of more than 400 online daters commissioned by Engage.com, 9% of respondents said they copied from another person's profile; 15% suspect their own words were stolen."

(click to enlarge the graphic and see one example of "profile theft" in action)

Yes but what TYPE of community do you want?

I discovered a great post from Church of the Customer about the various types of communities. Everybody is talking community these days (myself included) but are we being specific enough about what type of community we mean?

Ben McConnell offers an interesting POV on 4 distinct flavors of community (see graphic at left), and provides examples of each.

An informative yet quick read which I recommend highly.

Today's youth: taking TMI to a whole new level

A big thank you to the Chicago office's Julie Fleischer (aka JFly) for sharing a terrifically interesting New York magazine article about kids, the internet and the end of privacy. If (like me) you've been scratching your head about why today's youngsters seem so comfortable putting the intimate details of their lives online to be seen (and later Googled for all eternity), the article has some clues.

It's well worth a read in its entirety, but here are a few things I found particularly interesting:

- They all think they have an audience, and this thought impacts how they behave, particularly when in public view

- The potential for self-documentation to deepen the intimacy of daily life (rather than lessen it)

- “For me, a fundamental principle is that if you like something, you should show your love for it; if you don’t like it, ignore it, don’t waste your time” - an interesting take on the rationale for participating in UGC

- This snapshot of one young woman's online identity - across multiple platforms/sources

I love this quote included in the article: “When it is more important to be seen than to be talented, it is hardly surprising that the less gifted among us are willing to fart our way into the spotlight,” sneers Lakshmi Chaudhry in the current issue of The Nation. “Without any meaningful standard by which to measure our worth, we turn to the public eye for affirmation.”

Social networking - must-read research

Jonathan Adams in NY (hi, Jonathan!) shared some interesting research (qual./quant.), sponsored by Fox Interactive Media/Isobar/Carat USA, about the 70% of 15-34 year olds who are currently social network users. The research was conducted by TNS, TRU and Marketing Evolution. I saw excerpts of this work presented at an ad:tech panel Jonathan presented on last week in NYC.

The study has many interesting findings; the global theme is "never ending friending"- because social networking is a world where frictionless attraction makes forging relationships easier - and more rewarding - than ever before.

One interesting finding - while users do reach out to new people online, most social networking activity is deepening relationships that already exist in the real world. Also, users claim they are looking for the "authentic" people and seek to reveal things about themselves not usually visible to others (it's always interesting to me how this generation's definition of "authentic" encompasses virtual).

Perhaps most interesting - the assertion that "friending is the new advertising" - because (as we all know) personal endorsement is more credible than push marketing (and as one respondent stated, "I don't want companies to advertise to me, I want them to be my friend.").

The study also details the "momentum effect" - a way to quantify the lift in impact attributable to WOM passalong.

It's a must read for anyone seeking to understand the mania with social networking - which one respondent called the greatest advance in people-watching since to the local shopping mall. Download a PDF of the study via link below.

Download myspace_neverendingfriending_0707.pdf

Broadcast your cause

Yesterday, YouTube debuted a new program called the YouTube Nonprofit Program, which allows nonprofit organizations to create special channels on Youtube.com. The 13 initial participants of the program - including Autism Speaks, and the American Cancer Society- have posted remarkably moving videos about people impacted by these issues.

The program will make it easy for people to find, watch and engage with nonprofit video content. Additionally, organizations will be able to add a Google Checkout donation button to their page, allowing video viewers to quickly and easily make a donatation right from the site. Plus, the nonprofits will receive 100 percent of the donated funds, as Google has promised to process donations for free through at least the end of 2008.

Even better, the first 300 nonprofits to sign up will receive a free video camera to help start them on their way.

This makes perfect sense in so many ways - the nonprofits are able to speak to a much wider audience with compelling and engaging content, while viewers are just a click or two away from a donation.