I pay attention to emerging technology and trends on a daily basis. While I track many networks, tools, and services, I take the time to share those that appear to gain traction or offer interesting prospects for tomorrow’s business, today. Two such services are quickly becoming the darlings of the blogosphere and brands alike, Instagram and Quora. Not a day passes us by where someone isn’t analyzing Instagram’s rise to imaging stardom or Quora’s domination of social engagement around questions…
At the Pivot of Business, Marketing and Media
I am certainly no stranger to the conference circuit. Over the years, I’ve helped many friends organize conferences, advised organizers on programming and positioning, and presented at or attended scores of others. It is at these conferences where I am fortunate to meet and support many friends and new friends alike while also learning from the wisdom of my peers. Nothing will change…I’m passionate about all of the above. But, I do have some news to share with you… As…
Exploring and Defining Influence: A New Study
Influence is bliss… The socialization of media is as transformative as it is empowering. As individuals, we’re tweeting, updating, blogging, commenting, curating, liking and friending our way toward varying levels of stature within our social graphs. With every response and action that results from our engagement, we are slowly introduced to the laws of social physics: for every action there is a reaction – even if that reaction is silence. And, the extent of this resulting activity is measured by…
The Social Network: Ecosystem vs. Egosystem
Of all the social networks competing for our online persona and social graph, Twitter is special. The culture and self-governing rules of engagement shaped by the “me” in social media, create a personalized experience that looks and feels less like a “social” network and instead, creates an empowering information exchange. Twitter is at the heart of the Web’s evolving egosystem and its archetype is powerful and quite understated. For better or worse, Twitter introduces the notion of notion of popularity,…
Connecting the Dots: Socializing Touchpoints
We are now down to the second-to-last video where Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo) and I examine the state and future of social media. In this segment, we outline the importance of connecting offline and online experiences. Brands must now introduce a connected series of touchpoints between traditional and new media programs to define paths and bring desired outcomes to life. However, to connect the brand strategy to the individual requires a personal approach that starts with the “First…
Video: Bringing a Brand to Life in Social Media
We’re approaching the last bits in this series of conversations where Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo (@26dottwo) and I examine the state and future of social media. In this installment we review the various aspects and formalities of bringing a brand alive, truly alive in social media. Everything begins with establishing the rules of engagement in order to define the boundaries, context, and objectives for conversations. Guidelines such as “don’t be stupid,” “use common sense,” “stay positive,” are not the…
Social Media Spend to Double This Year
The spirit of social media is enlivening industries, refreshing marketing, and humanizing businesses. While the steps to the social revolution are gradual, so are the budgets that fund innovation. Progress is underway however, and with every experiment and pilot program, we learn the answers to the questions that serve as the gateways to change. Early experiments are sparked within various forward-looking divisions and funded by other resident or surrounding programs or departments. As social media permeates and socializes the frameworks…
Social Media is Measured by the Sum of Its Parts
Social Media is greater than the sum of its parts, but it is these parts that define the socialization of business. Today consumers are interacting with peers, brands, and influencers in social networks at varying levels across more industries than you might possibly believe. The answers of who, what, when, where, how, and to what extent are out there; we just need to spend a moment searching for the insights necessary to galvanize meaningful social media content, branding, and engagement…
Facebook and Twitter users spend 1.5x more online than the average Internet user
If you want to get a glimpse of the economic future, focus on the emerging trends driven by those defining the evolution of the social Web. Social media is not only democratizing influence and upsetting the traditional media ecosystem, it is now an indicator for a potential economic resurgence. Leading metrics firm, comScore, released its Q1 U.S E-Commerce Spending Report recently, finding that online retail spending approached $34 billion in Q1 2010, which represents a 10 percent boost compared to…
7 Steps to Creating and Cultivating a Brand in Social Media
In business, we learn through everything we do and it influences all that we try and repeat. When something new comes along, we tend to view it with either enthusiasm or skepticism, or in some cases a bit of both. Such is true with the advent of Social Media. As business, marketing and service leaders, we face new challenges. We’re not quite sure how or why to implement the lessons and promises of social media into what we’re already doing….
