Angela Connor's Blog, page 5

An early New Year's resolution for brands confused about the definition of community

Read this out loud, print it, tape it to the cork board in the cafeteria, post it on the intranet, e-mail it or send it via direct mail: "In 2011, we will decide if we really want an online community, which requires commitment and true engagement, or just a bunch of fans and likes. And [...]

First thoughts on the iPad-only newspaper

You probably know by now that Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch are teaming up to create a newspaper for the ipad. Given the projected growth of the ipad, this seems like a smart business move.  And since they're both millionaire or maybe billionaire businessmen, it is  likely to succeed. As a journalist, I want nothing [...]

Maybe you are a social media guru, expert or maven

I find it utterly ridiculous how upset people get over the fact that someone calls themselves an expert. Particularly when it comes to social media. If a person sees themselves as a guru or a maven or even a goddess, what business is it of yours, or mine for that matter? Seriously. Unless you've hired [...]

Report: The state of online branded communities

I wanted to write a great blog post to go along with the release of this study by ComBlu on the state of online branded communities but given my current workload, it isn't going to happen today. HOWEVER,  I really want you to know about it and more importantly, download it so you can dig [...]

The truth in online health communities

I'm sure we can all agree that there are major benefits to patients who communicate about their health online, particularly among others with similar conditions. This is a major component of the conversation surrounding "Health 2.0." What some people find in these communities is empathy, understanding, different points-of-view and perspectives, compassion and the freedom to [...]

Does online community outsourcing work?

Before I begin to answer that question, I will share a snippet from a post over on the Harvard Business Review: Firms that lack leaders with social media skills are often tempted to outsource community management to outsiders, such as web development firms or advertising agencies. Unfortunately, this increases the risk of failure. The problem [...]

Ning stays relevant, continues to chart its own course

I am always rooting for Ning. From the very beginning Ning made things easy. People migrated to the platform for its ease of use and the sheer power it gave them to connect around an area of interest, issue or cause. Remember when Ning announced that it was phasing out "free" back in April? I'll [...]

Why marketers should care about the way we share news

This is a cross-post from my company blog.

CNN has released the results of what I deem a very powerful study, making the connection between all of the news-sharing madness happening across the social space, and how advertisers benefit.

TV show 'Community' launches with a Twittersode

It's really interesting to see how the networks are using social media to garner interest in their TV shows. I've read a lot about various tactics, but hadn't felt compelled to share any up until now. If you haven't already, add this word to your vocabulary: Twittersode. If you want to know what it entails, [...:]

New online community nets users cash for engagement

When thinking of ways to motivate users for their participation in online communities, the first thing you think about are rewards. It just seems logical to give people something with the hopes of that reward becoming a key motivator for continued participation. The question becomes, what "kind" of rewards. Should they be virtual or physical [...]