Erik Qualman's Blog, page 669

Even Some Groundhogs Are Fodder for Social Media

[image error]For those that care, mostly individuals in the Northeast and Midwest who battle winter weather conditions for a good four or five months a year, the news the morning of Feb. 2 was met with some confusion.

As Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow on Gobblers Knob in the early hours, he told the nation that there would be six more weeks of winter. "Many shadows do I see: six more weeks of winter it must be."

The Groundhog Day celebration is steeped in a German superstition that claims if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will go on for another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will arrive early.

Winter, what's that?

Many people around the nation are asking just exactly what that is, given it is has been unusually mild and there has been minimal snow these last several months across areas typically freezing and digging.

With temperatures projected to hit the mid-40s later in the day, this year's Groundhog Day event may contrast what some see as anything but winter.

Much of the Northeast has seen little snow and above-average temperatures through January to date. Perhaps the early season dumping of snow that hit many of those same areas this past Halloween was more of a trick than a treat.

As Phil's message was delivered to the thousands in attendance, it quickly spread across Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools.

Some of the tweets, many of which added some humor regarding Phil, included:

Happy Groundhog's Day, we suppose, if you're happy that Punxsutawney Phil continues to not make sense.
Do your best Punxsutawney Phil impersonation: tell us your predictions for the economy in the next six weeks.
My daughter this a.m.: "I've never seen the Groundhog thing with Punxsutawney Phil." Me: "You've seen the movie…Same basic thing.

So, is this just a lot of hot air (cold air if you're standing outside in Punxsutawney on the morning of Feb. 2) or would this groundhog and his handlers really be sharing something of value with us all?

As many of us who eat, live and breathe social media on a daily basis know, many worldwide turn to sites like Twitter and Facebook to get their real-time news these days, even forgoing more traditional sites like television and newspaper web pages.

Heck, Phil and the men who await his prediction each year in the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, some 65 miles from Pittsburgh, even have their own Web site. Not bad for a big furry rodent and handlers who don tuxedos each year for the extravaganza.

For those who still believe in Santa Claus (I do), the Easter Bunny (I do) and the tooth fairy (not so sure on this one), Groundhog Day is a chance to celebrate the true fact that winter is half way over.

And for those keeping score at home, Phil has now witnessed his shadow 100 times and hasn't seen it a mere 16 times since 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle. There are no records for the remaining years.

So, whether you care about Groundhog Day or not, you can bet "Punxsutawney Phil" will once again be one of the top trending topics on Twitter come Feb. 2, 2013.

And that is a prediction we can safely make….

Photo credit: today.msnbc.msn.com

[image error]

Dream Job: 4 LinkedIn Tips to Get You There

 

1) Don't forget your paper resume

The majority of employers still require you to hand them your paper resume. Less than 11%  of jobseekers include a social media link on their resume. Hence, you can stand out from 89% of the field by having a LinkedIn profile that you list on your paper resume. Being fulling transparent you should also list your Facebook account, Twitter account, etc. Make sure that your paper resume and LinkedIn profile information is consistent.

LinkedIn even has a great app that can turn your LinkedIn profile into a beautiful resume. How cool is that!

 

[image error]

2) 100% Complete Your LinkedIn Profile

Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn! LinkedIn makes it simple for us to achieve success. In the upper right corner of your profile page you will see a bar indicating the completion percentage of your profile (see below image). If you aren't at 100% – LinkedIn will indicate what is missing. Perhaps you haven't included where you went to college, or a missing a profile picture. Even once you are at 100% you shouldn't stop as you can hit the button "improve your profile" for other helpful tips.

[image error]

3) Optimize for Search

Review several job postings that you would consider dream jobs. Pay attention to which keywords are consistently being used in these. Make certain to include these keywords in your LinkedIn profile. Specifically pay particular attention to include these in your profile:

Headline
Summary
Experience

Keep in mind that you should only include these keywords if they make sense for what you are writing. Don't try to trick Google and in turn confuse your reading audience.
Optimize for Search
4) Get Recommendations

LinkedIn recommendations are one of the first places potential employers look when assessing candidates. Personalize your requests and be specific of what recommendation you are seeking from that person. Point to, or include, other recommendations you've received. This simplifies the request, making it more likely that you will receive a thumbs up. Start trying to get recommendations from your supervisors first as these are generally more "weighted" by potential employers. In other words not all recommendations are equal.

If you follow these four tips today than you are well on your way to landing that dream job. Good luck!

[image error]

 

[image error]

Facebook Stock Symbol (FB) – Zuck worth $28B – 13 other IPO facts

Facebook's Stock Symbol is FB. 13 other Facebook IPO bits:

Mark Zuckerberg expected to be worth $28 Billion post IPO.
Facebook disclosed they haven't been able to monetize mobile.
85% of Facebook revenue is from advertising.
Facebook made over $1 Billion in profit in 2011.
Morgan Stanley will take them public.
IPO expected to make over 1,000 millionaires (FB employees).
Expected market cap of $5Billion.
Expected to be the largest Internet IPO in history.
Zynga accounts for 12% of Facebook revenue.
Exchange: NYSE or NASDAQ,  Facebook doesn't  need to disclose when they file.
NASDAQ or NYSE choice may be decided on which exchange will give FB the most in terms of partnerships and co-marketing.
Facebook stock symbol FB.
Keep it real Zuck. Remember Yahoo, AOL, MySpace and eBay were all king at one time.

[image error]

Facebook Stock Symbol FB

[image error]

New facebook Marketing Challenges in 2012

To stay ahead in the competitive environment, most businesses have their marketing plans in place. While it is important to stay focused, it is equally important to prepare for the opportunities and challenges that arise from recent marketing trends. Current years have experienced a massive rise in 'social media marketing' and not only are the trend here to stay, it will expand far and wide. In the year 2011, the small facebook logo dominated almost every campaign in all the media channels. This phenomenon worked wonders for marketers to get there consumer at one forum, but it might not continue to be so in the new year. The new marketing challenges facebook might have to deal with are:

The year ahead is the year of 'up, close and personal' where marketing is expected to touch new heights of personalization. Tailored and customized content prepared for a niche audience with specific needs and interests is going to be extremely popular and have high value. Numerous reasons can be attributed to this growth like the role of content in online marketing, growing presence of internet, niche communities. While facebook empowered marketers to gather audience, it would be a different ball game to engage them and give them personal attention in the growing world of personalized marketing.

With the technological world today creating a whole new generation of smartphone and tablet users, another up and coming trend is the rise of mobile marketing. A device on the palm that can help the user to browse and buy on the move is certainly going to gain mass popularity. For marketers, it would demand targeted and mobile ready content. The companies preparing marketing approach for the mobile audience will benefit greatly in the future and it is a trend that marketers cannot afford to ignore.

'Word-of-mouth' always worked well for a brand but with social media it has raised a notch above. Social platform gives people tremendous power to share opinions and influence choices. Within the various methods of voicing opinion, 'video' is set to be the leading marketing trend. The growth of video fits naturally within the broadening social media channels. A youtube video showing a customer using a product or sharing their experiences within a selective online community, content that comes direct from the potential or existing customer is likely to grow in value. Video will help companies take innovative approach to develop fresher and more user-focused forms of viral marketing.

Despite the social media still faces its own challenges of not enough investments from marketers and marketers are not willingly investing due to lack of quantitative information on return of investment, the method of marketing would still continue to rise and become popular. Within the battle, there are trends that are here to stay, some would rise and some perish. Amidst all this, even facebook, the social network giant faces its own challenges. Be it either from a duopoly created due to Google+ or the niche marketing power that mobile would provide marketers. In order to survive the challenges, it is vital to constantly innovate and continue to make the brand facebook bigger and better.

About the author:  Alia Haley is a blogger who is a tech freak.  She has a weak side for gadgets and fashionable stuff like beach bag and dresses and she loves collecting watches. Recently she added two Swiss Army Watches to her collection. Beside this she is busy in writing an article on fender guitar.

[image error]

Super Bowl XLVI Social Media Command Center

There are a few times in life when your personal passions meet your professional calling – an obsessive Patriots fan (that is me) gets to share with my colleagues and peers that the Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee is using the Awareness Social Marketing Hub to deliver "Hoosier Hospitality for the 21st century," managing social media channels to engage with fans before, during and after the big game.  I could not be more excited and proud…and also slightly bummed that I won't be there in person (I will be at the wedding of one of my best friends and friends take precedence even over the biggest game of the season).

If you are as big of a Pats fan as I am or if you want to witness the marvel of the game even unfolding as millions of fans gear up for Sunday, then just simply click over to Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee Social Media Command Center. You can choose your social channel of choice from there to stay connected and watch updates in real time – Blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr.

The Social Marketing Hub is the backbone of the operation, where a staff of 50 monitors and responds to comments and fan safety issues, while providing fan-powered tips on what's happening via four social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. Planning for the Command Center began more than a year ago, with the Committee making a final selection of the Awareness Social Marketing Hub in July 2011. Here's what Taulbee Jackson, president and CEO of Indianapolis-based digital media agency Raidious, which is managing the Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee Social Media Command Center operation, had to say: "After reviewing over 60 different social media management solutions, we found the Awareness Social Marketing Hub to be the best fit.  We needed a tool that would help us deliver Hoosier hospitality for the 21st century by centralizing activities and allowing us to monitor and respond to fans in real time while having strict publishing authorization processes in place. We selected Awareness because of its ease of use and deep functionality."

The Indianapolis Social Media Command Center is a 2,800 sq.-ft. facility perched strategically above the Super Bowl village in the heart of downtown Indianapolis.

[image error]

Photo Courtesy of ESPN and Raidious

A staff of 50, including student interns from nearby universities, will utilize the Awareness Social Marketing Hub to monitor more than 300 keywords on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. CNN reported this week the team "will tweet directions to fans in search of parking, direct visitors to Indianapolis's best attractions, and stand by to provide information in case of a disaster." Here's a quick glance at the Twitter feed, which monitors for over 300 keywords, in addition to the game mentions and hashtags:

[image error]

The Huffington Post got the importance of the Social Media Command Center right – "the world has finally realized the power of real-time social media and how it can make or break a brand, an event, or a message. Social TV has truly arrived — and it is entirely controlled by the conversation taking place on Twitter, Facebook — not by the brand. The NFL announcement of its Social Media Command Center for Super Bowl 46 is promising to be a winning play."

My enthusiasm and exhilaration aside, social media is no longer an afterthought – it is an integral part of how you plan, design and execute your fan engagement. The Committee is using the Awareness Social Marketing Hub to support a very large-scale, complex operation with a lot of moving parts – in essence blending social customer service with a robust Social CRM approach. You can get more facts about Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee Social Media Command Center and download photos here – http://bit.ly/yffVOt

Go Pats!

@BostonMike

[image error]

Facebook IPO What You Need to Know?

Pending Facebook IPO – What You Need to Know:

Exchange: Don't know if it's NYSE or NASDAQ, in fact Facebook doesn't even need to disclose when they file
Morgan Stanley will take them public
Expected market cap of $5Billion
Expected to go public this afternoon, but may slip to tomorrow
Buy the time the general public can buy a share the price will probably be double of where it started
NASDAQ or NYSE choice may be decided on which exchange will give the most in terms of partnerships and co-marketing
Facebook stock symbol expected to be FB
Zuckerberg and others are about to get insanely rich; but keep it real Mark. Remember Yahoo, AOL, MySpace and eBay were all king at one time

[image error]

What will be the stock symbol for Facebook's IPO?

[image error]

Ten Statistical Facts from China You Didn't Know

The largest bank in China, based on total assets, is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. That's to get important financial information out of the way.
In 2010, China's fish production amounted to 9.87 million metric tons. Aside from a drop in 2005 and 2007, it's been on the rise.
According to a survey by KPMG, Pfizer lead the market share of international pharmaceutical companies on the Chinese market – by 8.32%. Johnson & Johnson was at the bottom of the list with 2.87%.
Do you know how many people travelled from China to the US not too long ago? More than 800, 000 in 2010. And the numbers keep growing.
Most of Generation Y, or the Millenial Generation, has a positive attitude towards building a stronger economic relationship between China and the US: 69%, according to a survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. While 24% think it's important to get tougher. Optimism seems to will out in this case.
If you look at food production statistics for China, you also get some interesting numbers. For example, milk production has almost quadrupled in the first millennium decade.
As of 2009 the average life expectancy for Chinese men was 70 years old. For women 75.
According to recent statistics, more men than women use the Internet in China, with 53%. But basically it's almost even. Still: girls, go online!
Men have a slightly higher literacy rate in China than women. Though the female literacy rate has been climbing since 1982 – from 51,14% to 90.94% in 2009.
China has a total of almost a million taxis in its cities.

Stephanie Kopf writes for the blog www.trenditionist.com . She has lived in Siberia, New York City and Germany. Her subject areas include anything related to the human psyche, European news, education, communication in all its forms, as well as the interaction of all of these with each other.

Visit us at http://www.trenditionist.com

Image note: this image is released under the creative commons license (source: Flickr/ Dainis Matisons)

[image error]

Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

[image error]During my career in corporate America, whiteboards were rarely used.  That seems really odd as I look back on it now.  When I started my own consultancy about a year ago, I bought a small whiteboard to write down my "to do" list.  I loved it from the start.  It was right there in front of me.  I didn't lose my list.  It wasn't buried in a Word document on my computer or in the piles of paperwork around my office.  It was satisfying to cross things off and it's easy to add new "to dos" as they come to you throughout the day.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?

A large part of my consultancy includes public speaking and in crafting those presentations, the free flow of ideas that go through my head in the early stages of development were difficult to think through and organize.  Amazon.com to the rescue.  I bought the biggest whiteboard they had, 8ft x 4ft, and I have to say, it has literally changed the way I start each day and tackle each project.   Why didn't I think of this sooner?

[image error]What started with "presentation prep work" on the whiteboard, soon turned into just about "anything prep work" on the whiteboard.   My mind experienced a whole new freedom to brainstorm new business ideas, create marketing strategies, and take notes while on the phone with customers or participating in a webinar.  I use it to jot down blog ideas, an inspirational quote, a favorite tweet, follow up phone calls, goals and objectives for the week and just about anything else you can think of.

I'm the father of three young children and this is where the fun really begins.  Homework has taken on a new dimension.  Why?  The whiteboard.  My four year old uses it to practice writing his name.  He loves to use the different colors and he's working hard at writing the letter S "not backwards".  My two daughters use it for math, for spelling and even encouraging notes to Dad with hearts, smiley faces and "I love you's" in such a way that I often take a picture of it (yes, the whiteboard).

[image error]Yesterday, I attended pre-school with my 4 year old.  It was "Donuts with Dad" day.  He had painted a small piece of wood and on it was an imprint of his foot.  The words written above the footprint read, "walk a little slower daddy because I'm following you."  How cool is that?  It reminded me of simple things he likes to do (writing on the whiteboard) just like Dad.

I'm now looking into making a bigger whiteboard for the other wall (Lowes has the stuff you need to do it yourself… Why didn't I think of that sooner?).  As you can tell, I love these things.  The ability to see it, write it, think it, brainstorm it, remember it, go for it, explain it, be inspired by it or just do it has made my "to do's" a lot more satisfying.  The fact that it's served as such an incredibly useful learning tool for my children makes it even better!

[image error]And guess what I found in the iPad app store just the other day?  A whiteboard app called Zig Zag.  It serves as my mobile whiteboard and it's awesome.  And, I'm glad that I did think of that – sooner.

 

[image error]

The Box is Dead. (Long Live the Box.)

Of the $4.3 Billion in quarterly profit that Apple reported for 2010′s Q4, over $1 Billion came from iTunes sales.*

Seth Godin's latest book Poke the Box (Read a Summary) encourages provocation – challenging long held beliefs or accepted practices.  Seth (and others) suggest we need to re-examine our "boxes" and relish the opportunity to reinvent them.  I'm looking forward to reading it because, personally,  I think the box is dead.  And at the same time, more important than ever before.  Let me explain…

It dawned on me the other day when I did a quick inventory of the juggernaut business success stories of the 21st century – Apple.  Amazon.  Ebay.  Facebook.  Google.  Zappos.  From A-Z (literally), these businesses have one thing in common – they've made their billions not by selling better boxes or "thinking outside the box", but by escaping the box mentality completely.  These companies (and others) create platforms.

Simply defined, if a box is a clearly defined product or service, a platform is a basic set of parameters that allow others to create their own boxes.

Whether it's internally or externally facing, a platform consist of four core components:

A base:             The internet works well for this.  So does any existing physical entity.

Tools:               A platform is a place for others to build.  Give them the tools to do so.

Simplicity:   Complexity creates walls; a lid.  Too many rules and your platform will start to look eerily like a box.

Purpose:        Facebook gives people a chance to connect with their friends.  eBay's a place to make some money.  Tell people why they should build on your platform.

 

The challenge with traditional boxes is that even the most successful have a limited shelf life and a growing number of competitors.  Let's revisit Apple's revenue report – the other $3.3 Billion in profits from 2010′s Q4 came from iPhones, Macs and iPads.  How many of the current versions of those products will be selling the same volumes six months from now?  Two years?  To be in the box business, you need to be constantly creating new boxes (iPad 2 due out early this year).  Not so with platforms.  Apple needs to make virtually no changes to the iTunes store to maintain (and likely grow) the current level of activity.

Unlike Boxes, Platforms have exponential growth potential.  They are inherently designed to benefit from socialnomics.  As more consumers adopt, more contributors are drawn in who, in turn, create more for consumers to adopt.  And the faster the platform grows, the harder it becomes for a new competitor to stand a chance.  First Mover's Advantage takes on whole new implications in the Platform world.

So are boxes dead?  Traditional boxes, yes.  We need to think about them in new ways.  As mentioned, the iPad is a box.  But it's also a portal to the Apple platform.  And that's the important part.  Understanding that Apple typically keeps 30% of every App sale, how many Apps do you think a consumer has to buy before Apple made more off those than they did off the device itself?  There's a reason why Apple TV was re-launched at $99 last year – Every person that buys one is also committing to a significant number of App Store purchases and, by lowering the price point from the original $229, Apple encourages new user to adopt their platform as well.

The main message is to not limit yourself to box thinking (regardless of whether your "outside the box" or in it).  Boxes are best when they act as a base for a well thought out platform.

One final thought on platforms:  They work as well internally as they do externally.  In my list of platform companies above, I mentioned Zappos; an online shoe retailer that sold in 2009 to Amazon for $1.2 Billion.  They sell shoes.  Zappos is, however, noteworthy for another reason:  Zappos didn't turn their offering into a platform.  Instead, they used the power of the platform internally – turning their call center job description into a platform.  From their Las Vegas head office, Zappos call center representatives are given the training, tools and freedom to dazzle and impress their customers on their own terms.  No script, just a genuine desire to help.  And permission to do so.  Does it work?  Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh has 1.2 billion reasons to think so.

*http://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/18/apple-reports-q4-2010-profit-of-4-31-billion-on-20-34-billion-revenue-best-quarter-ever/

 

Chris Taylor is President of Actionable Books; a resource center for busy managers who give a damn about their team.  He helps them build platforms for change.  Learn more about their tools at actionablebooks.com/workshops.

 

[image error]

As the Social Networking Footprint Expands, So Does Attention to Social Monitoring

The explosion of social networking sites has redefined how companies are approaching their online presence.  In many ways, social media has become an art of engagement for businesses that want to successfully maneuver within today's changing consumer landscape. Brands are now, more than ever, directly connected to their customers via the social voice of the consumer. Tweets, likes, dislikes, comments, etc., play a very important role in brand marketing strategies. With this expanding social networking footprint, there is now an opportunity for brands to obtain direct and measurable real-time consumer feedback for brands to understand their positioning within the community.

However, it is extremely difficult to measure the impact of this new social voice on a company's bottom line and marketing efforts. This uncertainty has created strong demand for analytics and reporting solutions that monitor awareness and provide insight into how consumers are interacting with these companies online. To remain competitive, companies need to understand consumer perception of their brand and implement new strategies based on actionable information on how they can better interact with their customers.

In 2011, social media and monitoring companies received a large amount of attention from investors, and this year, the sector is expected to benefit from a similar rate of financing, despite the overall market turmoil. Cascadia foresees that the niche social analytics providers in this space will be prime targets for funding and M&A as these technologies continue to proliferate in the market. In fact, over the past year, Google acquired several social media companies, two of which were social analytics companies. In June, the search giant acquired Post Rank, a company which uses a proprietary ranking algorithm to measure "social engagement" and in October, it acquired SocialGrapple, a social analytics graphing service, which is now used for Google+.

The ever-increasing popularity of social networks amongst consumers and businesses alike, combined with fierce competition to be the leader in brand recognition, make these recent acquisitions just the tip of the iceberg in terms of deal activity. Cascadia believes that ad networks, media companies, and agencies will move into the space as strategic acquirers in order to position themselves as players in the market.

 

Kushal Saha is a Managing Director in the Information Technology practice at Cascadia Capital with a focus on the Internet and New Media theme.  Saha originates, manages and executes all facets of M&A, recapitalizations, private equity and debt placement transactions. 

[image error]