ChaosScenario

Why Agencies Don't Get Social Media

Yesterday Brian Morrissey at AdWeek posted an article titled "Social Media: 'Agencies Don't Get It,' Survey Says."  I'd post the link, but it's now only available to AdWeek subscribers.  The gist of the story was that TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony polled marketers across North America, France and the U.K. on how they were sizing up when it comes to social media.  Part of the study was to gauge their agencies' abilities to shepherd  them through the chaos that makes up social networking, and TNS concluded that "Agencies don't get it."  The article went on to say that agencies talk a good game but they're severely lacking when it comes to implementation on a tactical level.

After reading the article, I felt like it opened up the conversation as to WHY agencies are perceived social media neophytes.

1. Social networks weren’t designed to be a marketer’s playground, so everyone is still trying to figure out the fine line of being relevant to users but not invading their space in a corporate fashion.
2. Many clients enter the interactive realm and want measured results with very focused ROI campaigns.  While this works well when it comes to search and targeted ad units, it isn’t necessarily a slam dunk when it comes to social networks.  I would argue that because of this reality there may be many agencies that don’t know much about social networks because they can’t justify to their clients how it would ever be profitable on a DR metric.  If companies don’t want to spend branding dollars online then they will continue to have a tough time coming up with “successful” social networking campaigns.
3. Agencies as a whole need to embrace social networking not from a corporate level, but from an individual level.  This is what I believe Morrissey is speaking to.  It’s tough to come up with ideas for MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc when you don’t manage and embrace your own page.  I feel like the key to this as an interactive brand manager is to constantly try out new technologies so that we can speak on them from a personal experience level.  I know that sometimes this might be considered a brand planner or strategist's realm of expertise, but this should be something that every discipline jumps into.  The more collective knowledge we have on these networks and new technologies the better equipped we’ll be to make recommendations for or against such campaigns for our clients.

What do you think? - John Herrington

Photo courtesy of Mario Sundar

We're With You, Arun

Fellow Age of Conversation author, Arun Rajagopal, who was a marketing tour-de-force for the effort to raise, at last count, over $11,000 for the children's charity, Variety, recently lost his mum and has asked only for our prayers in support.

So we gladly give that, and more.

Arun's a good guy, and it's hard to see someone you like and admire go through something like this.

We set up a website for you to pay your respects if you are so inclined. Also, if you would like to leave a small contribution to help offset funeral expenses, you may do so as well. - Cam Beck

Starbucks: Where Everbody Pretends To Know Your Name, Again

After hearing all the hype about Starbucks' decision to close their stores for 3 hours yesterday for intensive retraining, I knew I had to go in after they conducted the training and see what the fuss was all about. Though I've only once been disappointed when walking out of a Starbucks, I'm happy to report that I did notice one difference in this experience than I had in my previous dozen-or-so visits. The visible change was minor, but reflecting on it, I can honestly say I forgot what I was missing, and I'm glad it's back.

The Past
My last several ordering experiences at Starbucks started off with me picking a drink (or asking about one) and having someone call out, loudly, whatever it is I ordered.

"Venti Carmel Macchiato. NEXT PLEASE."

Then I would wait around for a few minutes until someone barked out the same words to tell me that my order was ready, and the words would run together so as to make them nearly indistinguishable.

"VentiCarmelMacchiatto. Thankyouhaveaniceday.

It wasn't always that way, though. They used to ask for my name when they took my order, and then call me by name when my order was ready.

What's in a name?
Now, I have one of those nicknames, "Cam," that people usually don't understand off the bat, unless I express it in its elongated, legal form, Cameron.  When I first tell people my name, the conversation goes something like this:

Them: "Ken?"

Me: "No. Cam."

Them: "Kim??"

Me: "No. CAM. Seee - Aay - Em."

Them: "Oh, CAM! Is that short for..."

Anyway, it can go on like this for a few minutes, up until I explain to them that the etymology of the name is Scottish Gaelic for "Crooked nose," which usually produces a little chuckle and is a natural stopping point  for the conversation so that we can conduct whatever business we joined to conduct.

The Present
This morning when I went in, I chatted a bit with the cashier about what was new on the menu (a honey latte) and subsequently ordered it.

"Venti honey latte triple espresso."

Then, the barista who took the order did something I wasn't expecting.

He asked for my name, and he did it in a way as if he were meeting a new friend.

Him: "Cam?"

Me: "Yes."

A few minutes later, another barista looked me in the eyes, smiled, and called my name out like she had known me her whole life.

Her: "Cam?"

Me: "That's me."

Her: "Here you go! Thank you!"

That was it? Three hours of training and all that changed was that you called me by name?

Well, yes. At least on the surface, but here's why the difference is significant:

There is nothing sweeter to a man's ears than the sound of his own name. Do it with a smile, and it's disarming. Look the person in the eye when you say it, and it's endearing.

If that were the only difference in service Starbucks will give me over the 20-cent-less-expensive equivalent coffee at McDonald's, I would go to Starbucks. 

As for the honey latte -- not my favorite. But I know it's always hit or miss when you try something new. Next time, when I order the Carmel Macchiato again, I know it will be a home run. - Cam Beck

P.S. If you have an experience (similar or different) with Starbucks since the retraining you'd like to share, please do so. I'd love to hear it.

Give and Take

One of the things we hear from time to time is that something is worth doing if it will just save one life (usually presumed to be a child). This is, of course, utter foolishness. We make trade-offs all the time. These trade-offs are necessary parts of leading others to do anything -- including building websites -- for without them, we could never decide what should have greatest importance.

Do You Know How Fast You Were Going?
Economist Walter Williams often uses the example of speed limits. If we were to lower the speed limit to 15 mph, we would almost eliminate traffic-related deaths. However, someone, somewhere has determined that the risk is worth increasing productivity by getting people and materials from point A to point B faster.

You believe it, too, or else you wouldn't speed. Ever. (Yes, I'm talking to YOU.)

A Science-Fiction Example
What if we were to somehow develop actual teleportation technology?

You know, of the "Beam me up, Scotty" variety.

Presume that teleporting from Washington, D.C., to Beijing, China would cost half as much as a plane ticket, and it is 100 times safer, expressed as a passenger-to-destination ratio. Plus, transportation time is virtually eliminated. A plane trip that would ordinarily take the better part of the day is wiped out.

How grotesque would the few failures that do occur need to be before people would be too frightened to use the technology?

What is More Important?
I can't count the number of disasters that I've seen on a websites that were caused by too many people wanting a stake in it for their department, but who have an overinflated idea about how important their department is to the grand scheme of things.

The manager for the project, in spite of having agreed to the strategy beforehand, goes along with this scheme in order to maintain a positive work environment.

Sadly, the quality of the work suffers, because the web team, attempting to give numerous things equal prominence, are unable to give anything sufficient prominence.

How Can We Fix It?
If there was ever an argument for executives needing to know about Web technologies, this is it. We tend to assume that managers can delegate this authority to people who do know, but in fact they typically don't give them the proper decision-making authority to quell disputes.

If I had to have one or the other, I'd choose a decisive manager who is quick to change when data proves him wrong than one who is so afraid of internal conflict and initial failure than he cannot make a decision.

On the Web, many failures are relatively easy to fix. As Drew said yesterday, "Pretty darn good trumps perfect every time, if it means you get to the market faster (or at all) with your message."

But in order to get there, executives must vest sufficient apparent authority to instill the confidence they need to make the decisions they must to get the job done -- to deliver results that are focused without needing to sacrifice clarity for the sake of someone's ego. - Cam Beck

The Biggest Decision You'll Make this Year - Mike Huckabee

Now that we've taken a look at all of the presidential hopefuls, I'd be remiss to leave out one of the most followed Vice Presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee.  I joke, which seems fitting for Huckabee's campaign.

• Hillary Clinton (Part 1)
• John McCain (Part 2)
• Barack Obama (Part 3)

Design

Logo – Huckabee doesn't really have a consistent logo, but I'll review what is present in the header.  There appears to be falling stars which makes me think that I can make a wish.  Huckabee also, like Senator Clinton, reminds us that he's running for president by simply putting "President" underneath his name.  I think it's a bit presumptuous that he left off the "for" before "President."

Color palette – maroon, blue and yellow. Like McCain, this seems like an odd color combination.  I think the maroon is an homage to his beloved Razorbacks.

Personal pic – Unlike any of the other candidates, Huckabee seems a bit humble to not show a personal pic in a fixed position on the site.  It's true that other pictures take up the hero shot on the homepage, but the one up today is not Huckabee's best angle.

Navigation –  Here's another horizontal navigation, but there's no secondary links from the top bar.  While some might see this as a simplistic design, it strikes me as quite a surprise in that it seems like when running for the President of the United States there would be plenty of things to link to.   

Calls to action – There seem to be quite a few different calls to action on the homepage from Read More!, Build our Base, Become a Ranger and Contribute.  None of these particularly stand out too much.

Order of importance – based on navigation

1. About Mike
2. Newsroom
3. Issues
4. Blog
5. Get Involved
6. Contribute

Order of importance – based on layout

1. Texas for Huckabee
2. Help Mike Today!
3. Ways You Can Help Huckabee!
4. Recent Blog Posts

What’s missing - While the site is a clean design, it still leaves much to be desired.  Based on how the sections of the site are labeled it seems that Huckabee definitely needs help.  The 3 outlined steps are to 1. Join the team, 2. Build their base or Become a Ranger! (not as awesome as it sounds) and 3. Contribute.   The third option is most important as it is highlighted with a yellow font color.  Overall, the design reminds me of my days when I first started using Dreamweaver and Photoshop. While both programs offer a ton of ways to make things look cool, when you try them all out on the same site it looks like crap.  My guess is that Huckabee has a precocious grandson.

Seal Rating:

   

Content

About Mike - This section of the site has a good amount of info on Huckabee, unfortunately the video that is intended to inspire reminds me more of a home movie.  On the flip-side, one of the most impressive things I've learned about Huckabee is that when he was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003 he lost 110 pounds. He then went on to complete four marathons over the next two years.  The other interesting piece is that Huckabee plays the bass guitar in a "rock-n-roll" band, Capitol Offense.  Here's the thing, with the exception of Sting, how many bass players are the leader in their bands?  Huckabee seems more like a wingman than a commander in chief.  Huckabee's the guy that forwards you the Chuck Norris jokes, he's fun to hang out with but you're not following him into battle.

Developer Log - One of the most bizarre parts of the site resides in the subnavigation in the About Mike section is this Developer Log.  Here, a voter can see important things like on 12/18 at 6:19 PM they "Added Filter to Ranger Endorsements public display" and on 12/11 at 5:30 PM "Rangers can add their own links to their dashboard, making the dashboard a potential home page for supporters."  This is hilarious to me.  Why on earth would you put this mundane information up on the site?  Like I said, it feels very amateur, like the developer wants everyone to know the progress he's made on the site.

Become a Ranger - one of the biggest disappointments to the site is that when I tried to "Become a Ranger" I was met with a Chuck Norris-like server error scissor-kick to the throat.

Newsroom - The problem I have with this section is that the Press Releases and Recent Articles aren't titled very distinctively and they don't lead me to want to click on them at all.  The video archive, which shows a screenshot of the video is a let down in that I can't just view the video on this page.  I would have to click on the link of the video and which then takes me to YouTube.  They've listed the Author, Keywords, and Date, but the problem is that all of the entries are from the same person with the same keyword.

Issues - Huckabee has chosen to rename the issues with his own personal spin, which makes quick scanning of the issues very difficult.

Blog - Here I see another missed opportunity, in that the Blog only highlights campaign events and videos instead of providing content and engaging people in a conversation.  This content is just recycled from what could be displayed on a videos page and an upcoming events page.

What’s missing -  There simply isn't much to the site as the content is severely lacking compared the other three candidate's sites.  With that in mind, I will say that 29 Things You Didn't Know About Huckabee is my favorite part of the site.

Seal Rating:

 

Use of technology

The site was built on Coldfusion, which was a hot development framework back in 2001, but is seen as outdated by many in today's advertising space. Now, on to the social networks.

MySpace - 38,854 friends, 12,269 comments

• Barack Obama - 295,556 friends, 46,073 comments
  
• Hillary Clinton - 182,641 friends, 18,691 comments
• John McCain - 44,931 friends, 5,814 comments. 

Facebook - 56,839 supporters, 8,898 wall posts

• Barack Obama - 627,718 supporters, 83,325 wall posts
• Hillary Clinton - 110,460 supporters, 37,456 wall posts
• John McCain - 59,342 supporters, 5,804 wall posts

Eons - N/A

• Hillary Clinton - 297 friends, 3 badges
• Barack Obama - 216 friends, 1 badge 
• John McCain - 3 friends, 0 badges

YouTube - 4,113 subscribers, 461,353 channel views,184 videos uploaded

• Barack Obama - 30,595 subscribers, 12,180,341 channel views, 705 videos uploaded 
• Hillary Clinton - 9,829 subscribers, 1,304,419 channel views, 252 videos uploaded
• John McCain - 2,613 subscribers, 589,518 channel views, 166 videos uploaded
  

What’s missing - The social networking piece of Huckabee's campaign caught me off guard because I thought that most people, like me, would want to befriend the former Governor even if they didn't want to back his presidential run.  I mean, c'mon, he knows Chuck Norris! This sponsorship by Chuck Norris was the best and worst thing Huckabee could've done for his bid.  It was the best because it garnered 1.8 million views on YouTube alone, but it's possibly the worst because it's hard to take the guy seriously.

Seal Rating:

 

Overall

Well, Mike, I hate to do this buddy, but your site just stinks.  With the other candidates it literally took me days to review all of their content and put it into bit sized nuggets for our readers while you provided the nuggets as your content.  It's a shame because you seem like a really nice guy, you just should have spent some money on an interactive strategy. 

Overall Seal Rating:

Thanks so much for your attention in these marathon posts! My hope is that you found some useful information that might help you in your decision for the next president of the free world.   

- John Herrington

Reality vs Perception

What if your success hinges on getting people to do something they don't want or are too embarrassed to do?

While reading Todd G. Buchholz's New Ideas from Dead CEOs, I learned that the California Prune Board was suffering from a stigma they could not shake.

Sure, prunes were good for you, but they were too closely associated with the bowel movements of the elderly and infants.

After a laborious process where the organization had to get the blessing of the Food and Drug Administration, the California Prune Board was able to call their produce "dried plums," and consequently changed their name to the "California Dried Plum Board."

Keep in mind that the product was still exactly the same.

The next year, sales skyrocketed 14%.

This is what I would call a helpful exercise in rebranding. How can you get people to do what they ought to be doing anyway?

Increase adoption rates by removing the stigma.
If you've ever wondered why drug companies market to consumers medicine which that can only be prescribed, this is the reason.

While annoying from one perspective (after all, who wants to explain herpes to a 10-year-old?), it makes perfect sense. When people feel as if the problem shouldn't make them ashamed, and that there is help, they're more inclined to ask for that help.

But don't lie about it.
Not all rebranding efforts are as helpful -- or truthful -- even if they are effective. We see this in politics more than we do in business because the political fallout from relativist truth in politics doesn't occur until a generation or two later, but business isn't immune from the difficulties.

Jewelry retailers, for instance, are notorious for inflating their prices just to give the appearance of a discount. So while they'll run a "sale" touting 40% off certain merchandise, they'll first increase the product price by an equivalent value in order to make such an offer.

The end result is that consumers pay the same as they would have before the "sale."

Jewelers aren't the only ones.

Remember, just because something works doesn't make it right. In fact, it probably doesn't even work in the long run. - Cam Beck

Image by Nasrulkram.

 

The Biggest Decision You'll Make this Year - Barack Obama

As we approach the Texas primary it only seems fitting to finish the last two parts of my four part series by reviewing Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee's websites.  Clinton (Part 1) and McCain (Part 2) were interesting but today I've reviewed Senator Obama's site and I welcome your thoughts in this conversation.
Design

Logo – some interesting things are going on here.  The color choices were familiar with the red, white and blue, but there's definitely more symbolism here than with others.  The blue resembles a bridge while the red and white stripes look like a road. The center of the ‘O’ looks like a sun coming up on the horizon.  This is a well designed logo that lends itself to multiple uses.

Color palette – red, white and blue tell the story here. While these two words might seem contradictory, the site looks presidential yet fresh. So it’s official, your site can be be serious and yet inspire at the same time.

Personal pic – On one hand, Obama looks poised and ready, with a glimmer of hope on his face.  On the other hand, he’s looking up into the sun which makes him squint and look a bit confused. It reminds me somewhat of the bewildered George W. image that we see so often.  I think the thing I like most about his picture is there’s just one of him, besides a tiny headshot in the “Meet Barack Obama” section in the middle.  Less is certainly more.

Navigation –  Another horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page, with sub-navigation on the right of the page.  They’ve gone with single words for each category which makes the navigation look very clean.  It seems that the campaign is taking a cue from Apple in that they’ve used a common adjective for the different sections of their site.  Much like Apple’s common use of the letter “i” in iLife, iTunes and iPod, Obama’s site has Obama Blog, Obama News, Obama Events, Obama Map, Obama Mobile, Obama Everywhere and then the oddball BarackTV.

Calls to action – The most apparent call to action is the giant red “Donate Now” button that is pervasive throughout most of the site.  This is a pleasing experience for a visitor in that they aren’t inundated with pleas for money but it’s always present in the same spot if they decide that they want to make a contribution.  The Make a Difference section of the sub-navigation is straightforward and rhetoric-free.

Order of importance – based on navigation

1. Home
2. Learn
3. Issues
4. Media
5. Action
6. People
7. States
8. Blog
9. Store
10. Donate Now

Order of importance – based on layout

1. One Million People
2. Donate Now
3. Make a Difference
4. Get Involved
5. Next Up
6. Obama Blog
7. Obama News
8. Know the Facts
9. Barack TV
10. Obama Events
11. My.BarackObama.com
12. Obama Map
13. National Voter Protection Center
14. Action Center
15. Obama Mobile
16. Obama Everywhere

What’s missing - I’m baffled as to why all candidates I’ve reviewed so far feel the need to make their Store look any different than their main site.  Obama is no different in that the top navigation is removed and moved all to the left.  The header content is weak and uninspiring.  When it comes to naming the sections of the site, I think it was a mistake to call it BarackTV.  If you’re going to call everything else Obama, stick with that theme.  In addition, Barack just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Obama. Overall, however, the design is clean, easy to navigate and inspirational.

Seal Rating:

   

Content

Learn - When I clicked on this link I was taken to the Meet the Candidate page, which is a secondary link under the “Learn” top nav.   This is a minor issue, but it isn’t a tactic that is followed throughout the site.  Obama’s personal history is rather short and there is only one video to supplement the copy.  Part of the problem is that once the copy ends there is an inordinate amount of white space because there are so many sub-navigational sections on the right, but detractors would probably say that there isn’t much in this section because Obama doesn’t have much experience to pull from.

Issues - This part of the site resembles other previously reviewed candidates with the issues listed and then a short blurb about where Obama stands and then a “Continue Reading” link for further information.  Each issue is clearly labeled like Civil Rights, Disabilities, Economy, Healthcare and Homeland Security.  This seems like a no-brainer to name the issue what the issue is called instead of trying to add your own spin to it.  This allows voters to quickly find the issue and not have to wade through the mire.  I like that even in some of the blurbs, we hear directly from Obama via speeches he’s delivered. The best differentiator for this section is that voters can download “The Blueprint for Change – Obama’s Plan for America” which is a 64 page PDF of how Obama wants to change things.  The PDF gives you an issue at a glance, the problem and Barack Obama’s Plan.  This is Obama’s answer  to critics that claim Obama is a talking head who speaks of change and hope with no real plan to achieve it.

People - Here you’ll find specific pages devoted to different demographics like African Americans, Americans Abroad, Women, LGBT and Kids. That’s right, there is a Kids for Obama page.  Now you may be asking yourself; How can my kid get involved? Well, wait no longer, with 10 Ways Kids for Obama Can Get Involved.  My favorites are:

• Take an adult (voting age) to the polls on Election Day and encourage them to vote for you, by voting for Senator Obama.

Honestly, using kids to sway their parents is just plain funny.  I can hear it now, “Daddy, please vote for Barack Obama! His comprehensive healthcare plan will pave the way to a brighter future for America.”

• Host a Senator Barack Obama House Party or sleep-over.

Oh goodie!  We can stay up all night and talk about Senators that we have crushes on!

• Contribute to the Kids for Obama Blog

If you’re a kid and you’re blogging, you seriously need to go outside and get some sun.

States - each state has its own dedicated page with information on how to early vote, read news from your state, upcoming events, TV ads, pictures from the events in your state and groups in your state. 

Blog - videos, articles, pictures, this blog is updated multiple times each day.  For instance, Sunday the 24th has about 10 separate posts.  This campaign understands how to use the blog to their advantage.

Store - as previously mentioned, this part of the site looks and feels different than the rest of the site which is a disconnect.  The most interesting thing I found was the $3 Republicans for Obama bumper sticker, which is on back-order.

Results Center – much like McCain, Obama has a running tally up-front on his site to remind potential voters that he’s the frontrunner.  This page shows a visual map along with each state and the number of delegates going to Obama versus Clinton.  One nice design element here is that Obama’s states and delegate count is a dark bold blue while Clinton’s is a light weak blue.  I think this is a subliminal attempt to show Obama’s masculinity and strength in opposition to Hillary’s femininity and weakness.  I don’t think Obama is sexist, but I do think there is more to this than just two separate colors.

Know the Facts – This section is genius. The Obama camp has taken statements from Clinton or McCain and either used them against themselves or given a reality check as to why they’re wrong.  Each section is complete with links out to articles and newspapers to back up their claims.  This is so smart in that regardless if Obama is correct on the issue, they’ve taken the work out of the equation for the voter in that they don’t have to search for who said what.  In addition, they defend attacks made against Obama rather convincingly.  This section has its own RSS feed which makes this content very consumable.

BarackTV - Within this section, you can peruse videos by the issue, videos created by the campaign and those created by supporters.  They’ve also taken care of accessibility by providing closed captioning and certain videos in Spanish.

My.BarackObama.com - much like the other two candidates reviewed, you can create an account, add friends, find events, send/receive messages, create groups, fundraise and blog.  They've also called the homepage "My Dashboard" which Mac users will feel at home with.

Obama Mobile - Here you can download mobile wallpapers, ringtones and signup for periodic mobile updates.  You can even receive specific issue updates, by texting issues like HEALTH, IRAQ, and REFORM to OBAMA (62262).  Obama’s camp also has a twitter account, but it’s severely underutilized considering they have 6,661 followers and yet they’ve only posted 72 tweets. Since my original review of Senator Clinton's site, I also found her twitter account as well.  However, she only has 509 followers and 44 posts.  I still wasn't able to find one for John McCain.

Obama Everywhere - literally, he is.

What’s missing - I struggle to find what is missing from this site.  There is just so much content and sections that are different than the other candidates' sites that I can't give Senator Obama anything other than a perfect score here. 

Seal Rating:

Use of technology

MySpace - 295,556 friends, 46,073 comments

• Hillary Clinton - 182,641 friends, 18,691 comments
• John McCain - 44,931 friends, 5,814 comments. 

Facebook - 627,718 supporters, 83,325 wall posts

• Hillary Clinton - 110,460 supporters, 37,456 wall posts
• John McCain - 59,342 supporters, 5,804 wall posts

Eons - 216 friends, 1 badge 

• Hillary Clinton - 297 friends, 3 badges
• John McCain - 3 friends, 0 badges

YouTube - 30,595 subscribers, 12,180,341 views, 705 videos uploaded 

• Hillary Clinton - 9,829 subscribers, 1,304,419 channel views, 252 videos uploaded
• John McCain - 2,613 subscribers, 589,518 channel views, 166 videos uploaded
  

What’s missing - I think Obama is in every social network that is currently available.  It's pretty astounding that he has a presence in this many different venues and still dwarfs the other candidates when it comes to friends and interactions.  This campaign has fully utilized every bit of technology to make such a robust site, along with maintaining sixteen different profiles.  Bravo Obama!

Seal Rating:

 

Overall

While there are some minor shortfalls when it comes to Barack Obama's web presence, his site truly stands above the rest.  Regardless of where you stand on the issues, Obama has most effectively represented his brand in the interactive realm and for that, I give him four and a half seals.

Overall Seal Rating:

Part 4, Mike Huckabee will also be this week. So come back soon. - John Herrington

Blogger Social Tip: Use Public Transportation

I've never been to New York City outside of JFK Airport, but I've read enough Economics books to have been tipped to the...ah... interesting real estate challenges in NYC. Apparently it extends to parking, as well, which should come as no surprise.

But $250,000 for a parking spot? Wow. And there's a waiting list. CK says almost no one in NYC has cars. It's no wonder.

More info about Blogger Social here. - Cam Beck

Hat tip to True Gotham for the video. Feed readers click through.

Distributed content is the new black

What's the newest thing in internet marketing? Blogs were the fad in 2005, Podcasts were the term in 2006 and Widgets in 2007. In 2008, it is all about distributed content.

At the 2008 iMedia Brand Summit in Coconut Point, Fla., the interactive industry's leading marketers were polled on many of the topics that shape the digital landscape. Here are the full results of that survey. Each graphic breaks down responses horizontally to indicate answers expressed by brand marketers on the top bar and other industry leaders (publishers and web technology experts on the bottom bar. Basically, people who work for brands and those who work for agencies, software, web service, etc.  Looks like they're pretty much in agreement.

Distributed Content? That doesn't sound nearly as fun as writing your own blog or recording a show about your favorite television series.

The fact is, though, that distributed content is the solution that's been needed for almost a decade. Companies spend an extraordinary amount of resources developing content for their website in the hope, and sometimes with the expectation that if they just put it out there, people will flock to it. Fact is, they won't. The brand is not as important to them as they are to the brand. Believe it or not, people don't just sit at a computer and decide to type in brand's website address to check out what's new on the site.

Distributed content allows content to be shared with minimal effort. It takes your content and allows people to use it in exchange for getting your message out. It's a solution whose time has come.

-Paul Herring

Leaving Comments: A Beginner's Glossary to Internet Chat

It's easy to forget how intimidating it can be for a reader to venture into a conversation taking place between strangers online -- especially since the other participants seem to be speaking a different language. If you're within eyesight or earshot of this blog, I want to hear from you -- and so do other readers. A lot of times, the conversations that take place within blog posts can be as enriching, if not moreso, than the post that spurred the conversation in the first place. 

What you Need to Know
For a complete list of the most common terms used in Internet (and text chat) go to NetLingo.com for acronyms and smileys and emoticons. Here's a short list to get you started:

• @[Your Name] - Pay attention! The person leaving a comment is speaking to you.  
• LOL - Laughing Out Loud  
• ROFL - Rolling On Floor Laughing. Also ROTFL (Rolling on The Floor Laughing)  
• LMAO - Laughing My Ass Off  
• ROTFLSHCCOMNAIWEDA - Don't worry about what it means. What you need to know is that it was funny at a supernatural level. (I'll put the answer at the bottom of this post if you're really interested)
• IOW - In Other Words
• FWIW - For What It's Worth
• IIRC - If I Recall Correctly
• BTW - By the Way
• IMO - In My Opinion. Can also be described as IMHO, or In My Humble Opinion.

The Story
Ann Handley reminded me yesterday that not everyone speaks Geek, and that one of her readers was confused when I used the term, in reply to her hilarious comment, "ROFL."

I'm an old hand at Internet chat, but I wasn't always.

I remember back in '95, I was working and going to school full-time. When I got off work, I was the only person awake, so I decided to seek some entertainment on this whole Internet thing when providers were still charging by the minute.

I logged in to a chat room where there was an ongoing discussion about "Spam." Not email spam, but the canned meat. Not having anything better to do (like, I don't know, homework), I posted a comment, (which at the time I thought was pretty clever) to this discussion.

It's really not important what the comment was. Trust me. You just had to be there.

All of the sudden, people (and there seemed to be a LOT of them) started addressing me. They were all saying "LOL, Cam... LOL Cam"

Before the book on Internet etiquette had been written, and back before it was common knowledge that USING ALL CAPS MEANT YOU WERE SHOUTING, I thought I just committed a serious faux pas.

After all, no one invited me to join this conversation. I felt like I was intruding. Mortified, I left and logged off.

It was some time after that I discovered I had no reason to feel bad.

Why It Matters
If you're a reader but aren't in the habit of joining in the conversation -- we're all missing out. I don't get to be enriched by your thoughts and passions, and because of that, it's impossible for me to better tailor my focus to serve you.

The more people who constructively participate, the more everyone profits.

So what do you have to say? I'm dying to know. :) - Cam Beck

Note: ROTFLSHCCOMNAIWEDA was an easter egg hidden in one of the early instant chat tools (Called PowWow) of the Internet. One of the features was a built-in voice synthesizer that articulated various acronyms.

For instance, when the synthesizer was activated on the recipient's computer, someone typing in the term, "LOL" actually generated a voice-synthesized, droned "Ha Ha Ha" through the recipient's speakers.

ROTFLSHCCOMNAIWEDA meant "Rolling on the Floor Laughing So Hard Coke Came Out My Nose And I Wasn't Even Drinking Any."