Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 324

The Business (To Business) Of Social Media

"Why aren't there more case studies of business to business organizations using social media?"

I get asked this question all of the time. The truth is that most people are not looking hard enough. Yes, we're all excited when a big brand scores a slum dunk and everyone gets all excited about capturing likes on Facebook, but the dirty little secret of the Internet is this: is you think that social media is good for consumer brands, it's much more powerful for those in the business to business space.

The opportunities are everywhere.

The best business to business sales are done through relationships, testimonials, white papers and general content marketing (unless you're in a highly structured, regulated and procurement driven process, but there is still an opportunity to leverage social media). If social media can't help you augment all of those areas, I'm not sure we're all living on the same planet. Are the consumers there? We tend to forget that those consumers are also human beings. They're on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Speaking of LinkedIn...

It was just announced that LinkedIn acquired SlideShare (more on that here: LinkedIn Acquires Professional Content Sharing Platform SlideShare For $119M). This is a prime example of the business side of social media picking up steam. It's about much more than making sure you have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile and that you're posting presentations to SlideShare, it's about the very real reality that more and more businesses are turning to the Web as a form of social proofing. They're looking to dig a little deeper into the online profiles and information that businesses share as a way to "get to know you"... and your business.

Shun social media for business at your own peril.

People will complain about the time and effort that it takes to build valuable connections online (and whether there is any ROI associated with it). They're right. It's amazing how strikingly similar the online world is to our day to day lives, isn't it? Did you think that a robust LinkedIn profile instantly qualifies you as someone worthy of doing business with? What we're learning is that it's not about how you present yourself online, it's also about how you conduct yourself. It's about who you are connected to, what kinds of engagement you are having and how you connect, share and contribute in these spaces as well. It's going to take effort... but in that effort comes the value.

For those used to Facebook and Twitter, this is all very obvious.

But, for those who are looking at social media from a business-only perspective, the river is growing bigger and deeper with each and every passing day. As much as these channels provide a publishing platform for individuals to share and connect, there is no reason why you can't leverage them in a smart and strategic way for your business to have a truly connected presence. In short, if you think that social media is just about "the conversation," you're missing the bigger opportunity.

What social media means to business to business.

What makes any media "social" is the ability for the media (in and of itself) to be as shareable and findable as possible. That's the core social action. Once you accomplish that, more people can engage and connect (and yes, this sometimes leads to actual conversations) If you're not in the business of making what you do as shareable and as findable as possible, then what, exactly, are you in the business of? The LinkedIn and SlideShare deal should make you realize how many tremendous business opportunities are missed - each and ever day - by businesses who wrongfully think that social media is just about businesses acting in a more human way. Social media makes your business more findable and more shareable.

That's core... isn't it?

Tags:

b2b

brand. facebook

business to business

case studies

consumer brand

content marketing

content sharing platform

internet

linkedin

online profile

online world

publishing platform

relationships

roi

sldieshare

social media

social proofing

techcrunch

testimonials

twitter

white paper

The Foundation Of Social Business

Too many companies still struggle with social media.

Here's the newsflash: some of the smarter businesses have moved on. It's no longer just about their media being social, but the business (as an entity). Is this a problem? Not for the brands that embrace this newfound opportunity. For others, they simply don't know where to begin. Jeremiah Owyang  is currently Partner of Customer Strategy at Altimeter Group, a research based advisory firm started by Charlene Li (Groundswell and Open Leadership). I've been following Jeremiah since his days at Forrester Research and was one of the earlier readers/fans of his blog, Web Strategy. Just this past weekend, Jeremiah appeared on my podcast, Six Pixels of Separation (you can listen to it right here: SPOS #303 - Why Social Media Agencies Are Turning To Advertising With Jeremiah Owyang), but today he tweeted about a recent presentation he gave at the Dachis Group's Social Business Summit 2012 titled, Build A Scalable Program Through Social Readiness. In this 30-minute presentation, you will learn the merit and opportunities that happen when you start thinking about your business as a social business.

This will be well-worth your time...

Tags:

advertising

altimeter group

blog

business

charlene li

dachis group

forrester research

groundswell

jeremiah owyang

media

open leadership

podcast

research company

social business

social business summit

social media

social media agency

web strategy

The Old (Evolving) Rules

Are rules set and permanent?

That's obviously not the case - especially when it comes to social media. I've recently been watching some of the discourse online and how many people struggle, because they feel that no one is giving them any hard and true answers as to how they should be doing things online. What these people fail to realize is that marketing using these digital channels is not a linear process and very much like a relationship. The dynamics at play call for very different strategies and tactics as you move from brand to brand. "You're not telling me what others in my industry have done to be successful?" is a common comment I see/hear.

Let's be raw for a minute...

If I explained to you how I managed to join with my business partners here at Twist Image and how we built the business to be successful, do you think it's a model that you could replicate? Look at Instagram. Do you think that's a model you can replicate? Here's the thing: in a world where you can now do almost anything in these digital channels, what makes you think that any kind of best practice is actually going to provide a semblance of success for your brand? Show me a successful story and I'll show you many exceptions with very few rules.

Should I follow you back?

A friend recently decided to get more active on Twitter. Because they have some visibility in the marketplace (they're a known entity in media), they asked whether or not they should follow everyone back on Twitter who is following them. Had you asked me this question when Twitter first started out, I would have said "yes!" Had you asked me this question two years ago, I would have said "no, follow back only those people that you find interesting." Being asked that question the other day, I was stumped. Why? Because the answer is yes, you should and no, you shouldn't and/or be very selective. If I look at three of my contemporaries: Gary Vaynerchuk, Amber Naslund and Mark W. Schaefer, I would say that the three of us have very similar business goals. We all use Twitter as a way to connect, provoke some thought leadership, all with the ultimate goal of getting clients to work with us. When I watch those three in Twitter action, none of them have/deploy the same strategies or techniques. We're all in the same industry and we all have the same business goals and we're all so fundamentally different at leveraging Twitter. And, most importantly, we all have very different followers with varying degrees of engagement.

Rules have become personal.

Do you remember when online marketers would tell you that you should never use the word "free" or use all caps in an email subject headline? The thought was that these emails would be relegated to the junk mail folder (or, even worse, be marked as spam). No more. The spammers have become so sophisticated, that they don't even use those techniques anymore, so the rules have changed. In fact, we regarded email as the future of direct marketing and we're currently seeing a very different kind of email marketing opportunity arise: one where it acts as a trigger to engage consumers to enact in different ways. More rules that are changing, evolving or becoming extinct.

Rails yes. Rules no.

Does this mean that everything is up in the air? No. There are rails. There are instances of blunders, foibles and big time idiotic moves that have highlighted the importance of knowing the rails: where they are and where they go, but that's about it. We can talk about everything from context and consistency to personalization and a certain humanness that are profound rails of what makes something work in the digital channels (and what makes other things die), but even knowing where the rails are (and keeping your hands on them as you walk down the path) is no guarantee of success. 

Great, now what?

Why not go back and look at all of your digital marketing channels (website, mobile environment, search engine optimization, email marketing, social media, affiliate program, web analytics, etc...) and start looking through the "rules" you created to ensure success. Make a list of these rules. Then, do some quick online searches, attend some webinars or local conferences and see if any of your rules have changed, shifted or have been debunked.

The results will surprise you.

Tags:

affiliate marketing

amber naslund

best practice

brand

business goals

business model

conference

consumer engagement

digital channel

digital marketing

direct marketing

email marketing

gary vaynerchuk

instagram

mark w schaefer

marketing

media

mobile environment

online discourse

online marketing

search engine optimization

seo

social media

social media rules

thought leadership

twist image

twitter

web analytics

webinar

website

The Sound And The Hurry Of Podcasting

It's funny how things fall together.

I found out that Julie Burstein, the author of Spark - How Creativity Works and creator of the radio program Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen for Public Radio International, was going to be a speaker at this past year's TED conference. I usually choose a handful of speakers or guests to try to connect with prior to boarding my flight to Long Beach. Having pre-set meetings and meal buddies makes it easier to connect with people and network (especially for someone as introverted as me). Julie was kind enough to make some time for me at the end of third day. We wound up having a wonderful conversation about the power of creativity and where it comes from (we actually recorded the conversation and you can hear it all right here: Episode #297 of Six Pixels of Separation Podcast with Julie Burstein) and agreed to try to stay connected.

Does anybody still care about podcasting?

Having recently celebrated the three hundredth episode of my weekly podcast, Six Pixels of Separation, I half jokingly tell people that it's the most selfish act of social media ever. I use the show as an excuse to corner interesting people and pry the answers to questions that are challenging me in business out of them. The only non-selfish act is the fact that I publish it for free for the world to listen in. It turns out that podcasting (and, audio podcasting, in general) never gained the traction of say blogging, online social networks or even online video. It's a shame. Audio (be it a podcast or radio) is true theater for the mind. Personally, I like nothing more than either plugging in some ear buds and listening to some killer content or cranking them through the audio system as I make my daily commute to the office. I especially love listening to audio podcasts on long haul flights. iTunes is an amazing repository of audio podcasts that enable each and every one of us to become our own, eclectic, program directors of our own radio stations (the only difference with podcasts when compared to radio is that you can pause, fast forward, rewind, stop, delete and share them... on your own time). It's the cheapest way to learn that you can find.

Good morning, Chelsea.

It turns out that few weeks after the TED conference, I was asked to speak at a private Google event in New York City. Julie had mentioned that I should ping her should I ever be in the area, and I had a breakfast opening. We wound up meeting for breakfast in Chelsea at The Grey Dog (in case you were wondering, the baked oatmeal is to die for) to chat about all things audio. Post success of her bestselling book, Spark, Julie was thinking of starting an audio podcast to continue to interview creative types. The name of her new audio podcast is called, Pursuit of Spark, but she had some technical and philosophical questions about how podcasting can (and should) be different from radio. In short, podcasting shouldn't be a mirror of radio. The opportunity we have is to experiment and come up with new and different ways to create audio programming. In the same breathe, there is tons of knowledge that Julie has about radio, so it became this strange conversation about sharing tips and tricks to chart this new course for audio.

Tools of the trade.

One of the biggest challenges is capturing the audio in the best possible light. Most podcasters (myself included) don't have access to a world-class studio or the ability to have our subjects show up to a specific location for a conversation (my studio is a MacBook Air with the Audacity freeware). We have to be more mobile and agile. The challenge with that is recording phone calls is not only hard to do, but the sound quality is brutal. Over the years, I've found that the audio quality of Skype trumps phones (so long as the Skype call is clean and free of distortion). I record those Skype chats using Audio Hijack Pro and the results have been quite good. While on the go, I've transitioned over the years from a small Sony tape recorder, to a digital recorder to the M-Audio MicroTrack portable digital studio to the HT Professional Recorder app for the iPhone. I was telling Julie all about my nerdware when she asked if I had heard about the Hindenburg Field Recorder. The app costs $29.99 and is worth each and every penny. It's almost astounding to see both the functionality (on-the-fly editing, you can set cue points during an interview, add notes and much more) and the overall audio quality. Without sounding too much like a commercial for Hindenburg, you can feel the future of audio reporting by just playing with it. It's like GarageBand for news and podcast producing junkies.

The power of audio.

There's still something to be said about the beauty of well-produced audio. Yes, there are a bunch of very indie podcasts out there and there are a host of professionally produced shows that are simply distributed through podcasting as well, but the tools are now readily available to make each and every one of us a producer of quality audio content. As businesses and brands clamor for friends, followers, likes, retweets and pins, start tinkering with audio podcasting. You may not only enjoy it, but be able to find some highly qualified new business leads and a burgeoning and loyal community along the way.

The above posting is my twice-monthly column for The Huffington Post called, Media Hacker . I cross-post it here with all the links and tags for your reading pleasure, but you can check out the original version online here:

The Huffington Post - Why We Shouldn't Cast Away Podcasting .

Tags:

audacity

audio hijack pro

audio podcasting

audio programming

audio quality

audio reporting

blog

business book

business column

creativity

garageband

google

hindenburg field recorder

ht professional recorder

iphone

itunes

julie burstein

kurt andersen

m audio microtrack

macbook air

media hacker

mobile

online social network

online video

podcast

podcasting

portable digital studio

program director

public radio international

publishing

pursuit of spark

radio

radio station

recording studio

skype

social media

sony

spark

studio 360

tape recorder

ted conference

the grey dog

the huffington post

Why Are Social Media Agencies Now Buying Advertising?

Episode #303 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

I find it very embarrassing that after three hundred-plus episodes, we've never had Jeremiah Owyang on the podcast. He's currently Partner of Customer Strategy at Altimeter Group, a research based advisory firm started by Charlene Li (Groundswell and Open Leadership). I've been following Jeremiah (and admiring him) since his days at Forrester Research and was one of the earlier readers/fans of his blog, Web Strategy. On April 14th, 2012, Jeremiah posted a fascinating piece on his blog titled, Trend: Social Media Agencies Turn to Advertising (make sure to read the comments too!). According to his blog post: "In a stunning early finding of interviews with nearly a dozen social media agencies and software providers, I'm seeing a new trend: Social media agency of record (SMaoR) are now moving into advertising buying." Very conversation worthy...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast #303.

Tags:

advertising

advertising podcast

altimeter group

blog

blogging

charlene li

david usher

digital marketing

facebook

forrester research

groundswell

itunes

jeremiah owyang

marketing

marketing podcast

online social network

open leadership

podcast

podcasting

social media

social media agency

web strategy

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #97

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks), Hugh McGuire (The Book Oven, LibriVox, iambik, PressBooks, Media Hacks) and I decided that every week or so the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

. "While in the UK, I've been attending events as part of Big Data Week. Last night, I watched a fascinating series on visualization, which included the Mapping London project. It tracks everything from bike commuters to tube riders geographically. But this one is interesting for another reason: Britons have many restrictions on what they can do legally -- my cousin told me she's not allowed to ask prospective hires how many years' experience they have, because it's considered age-discriminatory. I imagine that a survey of Londoners by racial profile would be similarly controversial and frowned upon. But an analysis of last names -- Smith versus Singh, for example, is trivial. This is a great example of how hard it can be to legislate and govern data. For everything we ban, there's likely a close parallel that's easy to collect and comparatively unregulated. Want to know where your tribe lives? Map London by last name." (Alistair for Hugh).

Lady's orange wig, lipstick and 'five regrets of the dying' newspaper cutting found alongside body of spy in the bag, and SOMEONE ELSE locked him inside - The Daily Mail . "I'm in England for a family vacation, and as a result my media diet has been filled with Murdoch, hoodies, sheep, Olympics, and TOWIEs . It reminds me of how little news actually makes it across international barriers and through our media filters. This story, in particular, has transfixed us, and I can't believe it hasn't seen further attention. It sounds like a  Bourne Identity script, or at least an elaborate episode of CSI -- an MI6 code breaker, found locked in a gym bag, with the padlock beneath him, in a room full of £20K of unworn women's clothing. Nobody seems to have any explanations. Oh, and it happened two years ago. How am I just hearing about this now? Media bubbles indeed." (Alistair for Mitch).

Letter to Jeff Walker regarding "Blade Runner" - Letters . "In 1981, science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick saw a preview on television of the film Blade Runner, which is based on his novel, 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' This is the letter he sent to the producer of the movie. Unfortunately, PKD died shortly after this, and never got a chance to see the complete film." (Hugh for Alistair).

Six Rules for Dining Out - The Atlantic . "Mitch, you travel more than anyone I know. Here are some suggestions and advice about finding good food when you are on the road, including: choose Vietnamese over Thai, unless the Thai restaurant is attached to a hotel. And: avoid restaurants with many smiling, beautiful women." (Hugh for Mitch).

Get Rich U - The New Yorker . "I've been fascinated with geography lately. Not maps or games of memory, but why people are located where they are. What is it about Silicon Valley that makes it such a hotbed of innovation, technology and talent? Most people aren't born there, but they move there... making a pilgrimage (of sorts). Much in the same way people went out in gold rush times. You would think that technology changes that. You would think that great ideas can come from anywhere. The truth is that they can (and do). Yet, still, if you want to make it in Hollywood, you have to be in Hollywood. In this article, Ken Auletta looks at the Chinese walls (or there lack of) that exists between Stanford University and Silicon Valley's thirst to find the next Facebook or Instagram or..." (Mitch for Alistair).

Words Came In, Marked For Death - The New Yorker . "Virginia, our Executive Creative Director at Twist Image flipped this gem my way (so thank her, not me). The folks over at The New Yorker launched a Twitter -based game called, Questioningly . In the first round, they asked readers to recommend a single English word that should be completely removed from the language by taking suggestions via Facebook and Twitter (gamers were asked to use the hahstag #tnyquestion). Read on to discover what happened and the hilarity (or weirdness) of smart people (or the criminally insane)." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it's your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

Tags:

alistair croll

big data week

bitcurrent

blade runner

bourne identity

complete web monitoring

csi

do androids dream of electric sheep

gigaom

hugh mcguire

human 20

iambik

jeff walker

ken auletta

librivox

link exchange

linkbait

managing bandwidth

mapping london

media hacks

philip k dick

pressbooks

questioningly

story

the atlantic

the book over

the daily mail

the new yorker

twist image

twitter

year one labs

The Panic Over Pinterest

By the time you read this, Pinterest may be doomed.

Did you detect the sarcasm in that statement? Two nights ago at Social Slam in Knoxville, Tennessee, I got asked if Pinterest is the hottest thing since... well, the last hottest thing (let's call it Instagram for argument's sake), then (not even twenty-four hours later), I'm on a flight home, reading USA Today when the top headline for the Money section is: "Pinterest growth curve levels off." So, that's it? We've already fallen out of love with Pinterest? According to the article in the newspaper: "...meteoric growth for the overnight app sensation slackened, according to two market-research firms. The image-bookmarking site and social network drew 18.7 million unique visitors in the U.S. in March, compared with 17.8 million in February and 11.7 million in January says comScore."

They're just not that into you?

The article continues: "'The numbers show slowing user growth, (the) negative impact of redesign and declining buzz level on Google Trends,' IDC analyst Karsten Weide says." Tell me if you have heard this story before... Pinterest is two years old and has an estimated value of about one billion dollars - yup, smells like another Instagram to me, too. In what was more shocking news (not that a billion dollar valuation is not shocking) is that last month, Pinterest surpassed LinkedIn to become the third most popular social network (trailing Facebook and Twitter) in the U.S. That was quick, wasn't it?

How I feel about Pinterest has nothing to do with how we measure success.

First off, 18, 17 or 11 million unique visitors is nothing to scoff at, but why is this the primary metric being used to define success? Doesn't it feel like we're using a very traditional metric to gauge success and opportunity. I'm less interested in how many unique visitors Pinterest has and much interested in Pinterest's ability to drive economic value. Perhaps Pinterest's unique visitors dropped from 18 million to 10 million, but - at the same time - those 10 million people referred more, shared more and drove actual conversion at a much higher rate. Attention people of the world: we no longer have to track eyeballs. We can actually dig in a little deep and see where the traffic to Pinterest came from, where it went and how valuable it all is.

Are we going to track pageviews next?

We're still acting like head count and pageviews is the metric for success. The only reason that should be a metric in the first place is if all Pinterest is looking to create in terms of revenues comes from serving up banner ads. That's not the value of what this channel is and the opportunity is much bigger than that. Pinterest is a site that helps introduce things to people. This is a very powerful channel because it's also curated by people. So, when someone follows me on Pinterest, they're not only expressing an interest in me (personally), they're expressing an interest in the things that I like. If you put this into the context of art, just imagine what Pinterest can do to add true economic value to an art dealer. The art dealer can create boards around specific artists or genres and constantly be posting new and interesting art for sale. The feedback from the followers gives this dealer a pulse on what is capturing the imagination of their clients (and who they share it with as well). If we're going to measure Pinterest success by simply looking at body count and pages, we're probably missing the most exciting part about what this (and other) new media channels can do to grow a real business.

What's the trick?

Let's not treat Pinterest like it's just an online newspaper or media property. Let's treat it (and, for the record, I'm not just talking about Pinterest here... it could be a myriad of other online spaces) like a business opportunity. If the only metrics that matter are the same ones that we use to measure audience of television shows or newspaper readers, once again, we're taking way too many steps back. Ten million people is also a lot of people. Don't kid yourself. How many other businesses do you know that get ten million visitors every month? It seems like every time we talk about the Internet, the numbers get so big that we lose perspective. Pinterest has an amazing opportunity (and challenge) ahead to see what kind of viable business it can turn itself into. If it dances down the path towards ad revenue driven by users, they may be selling their brand (and the online channel) way too short.

What's your take?

Tags:

banner advertising

comscore

economic value

facebook

google trends

idc

instagram

karsten weide

linkedin

market research

media property

newspaper

online metric

online newspaper

online spaces

pageview

pinterest

social network

social slam

twitter

usa today

web analytics

Dear Seth Godin

Dear Seth,

It was great to see you this week at The Art of Marketing event in Chicago. You're not only kind with the audience, but you're kind with your time and it's always a pleasure to both see you speak live (I tweeted out that, "I could watch Seth Godin speak a million times and never tire") and to spend time hanging out socially and just catching up. I'm not sure if I ever told you this, but I consider you a mentor (don't worry, no additional time or work required on your side of things).

I was first introduced to your work just prior to the launch of Permission Marketing (still, one of the best marketing books out there). At the time, you were giving a speech at one of the early Internet conferences (it could have been Internet World or a Jupiter Advertising Forum event in New York City, I can't remember). After watching you speak, I remember saying to myself, "I think he just said that marketing should be everything that I thought marketing should be." From there, I read your book, Survival Is Not Enough (I still think it's one of the best - and must underrated - business books out there). After that, the floodgates just opened up for me. I have read every single book that you have published. I often gift them to friends and colleagues.

I was trying to think of why you have had such an immense impact on me and it struck me like a bolt of lighting: you are a true incompatible. You see things your way and explain them in a very simple way that speaks less to what a business can do to manipulate someone to buy something, but much more from the standpoint of what is right and true. Along with that, I appreciate the fact that you don't just talk, posture and/or offer punditry, but that you actually live your words and ship projects. While I've never been a big Squidoo user, I read, promoted and still talk about each and every book you self-published on The Domino Project. As someone who spent over a decade in the music industry, I loved The Domino Project because it was like my favorite artist signing and releasing their favorite artists' music. It was (and still is) very exciting to me (I'm about to read Do The Work by Steven Pressfield for the umpteenth time).

Thank you, Seth. You have both helped me shape my thinking about marketing, business and leadership, but - more importantly - you've set a high benchmark for bringing integrity, creativity, originality and art into everything that I do. When people ask me what the best business book is for them to start thinking more progressively, I don't hesitate: it's Linchpin. I also want to thank you for being brave. Every so often, the online discourse about why you don't have comments on your blog pops up (it actually happened while we were having lunch during The Art of Marketing!). For the record, I'm glad that you don't have comments. Why? Because I'm just thankful to get a slice of your thinking several times a week (for free, no less!) while I wait (with bated breath) for your next book to come out. Before blogging, I'd sit around twiddling my thumbs waiting for your next book.

Lastly, I don't think I would have ever pursued public speaking without being so inspired by your presentation style (that includes everything from the mechanics of how you build your slides and work the stage to the way you tell stories, make people laugh and create a very human moment of true connections. There's a reason so many people consider you one of the best public speakers (and yes, I'm raising my hand on that one too).

I hope this note finds you well and that you keep on keeping on. I'll be here following, reading, doing and waiting for whatever it is that you're going to do next.

Warm regards,

Mitch

I was very moved by the book, Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. Especially the section titled, Write Fan Letters. The truth is that I used to always write a note to the author of the book that I had just finished. I guess I got too busy (or read to many books or became lazy) to keep at it. In Kleon's book, he recommends writing a public fan letter and ends the section by saying: "The most important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return, and that you get new work out of the appreciation." It's a beautiful concept. With your permission, I'll be using this space from time to time to write these kinds of letters. Welcome to Project: Public Fan Letter. Feel free to do a few of them yourself.

Tags:

artist

austin kleon

best public speaker

blog comment

book publishing

business

business book

do the work

incompatible

internet conference

internet world

jupiter advertising forum

leadership

linchpin

marketing

marketing book

music industry

permission marketing

presentation

presentation style

project public fan letter

public fan letter

public speaking

seth godin

squidoo

steal like an artist

steven pressfield

survival is not enough

the art of marketing

the domino project

write fan letters

Two Things That Should Rock Your World

Well, is the Web dead?

Of course, the Web isn't dead, but it is changing in ways that many of us have (sadly) been ignoring. As more and more brands still struggle with the browser-based Web (and this includes everything from website development to social media and e-commerce), the Web as we've known it evolves. It is mobile, it is local, it is app-based and it's going through changes that suddenly make the Facebook/Instagram deal make a little more sense (the future is in the palm of your hands... and not on a fixed screen). I'm also willing to bet that once we get mobile ubiquity (when we're able to do on mobile what we're doing right now with the browser-based Web) that it's going to make our usage (and this includes buying online and social media) look like a joke in terms of usage and consumption.

Here are two pieces of information that will rock your world...

Will smartphones account for most visits to e-commerce sites by 2014? Here's the news from Internet Retailer: "Of 49.6 billion visits to the top 500 e-retailers in 2014, 26.4 billion, or 53.2%, will stem from smartphones, predicts mobile commerce technology vendor Branding Brand in a new study. There will be 41.0 billion visits to the top 500 e-commerce sites this year, 10.1 billion, or 24.6%, coming from smartphones, the study predicts."

Instagram Will Take Facebook Into the Mobile Age . From The Daily Beast: "Could Facebook already be in danger of becoming obsolete? Back in 2004, when Zuckerberg hacked together the first version of the site in his dorm room, the world looked very different. Computing centered around PCs. The Internet was all about websites. Then came the iPhone and Android, and today the only reason anyone creates a website is to promote a cool new mobile app. There are a billion smartphones in the world. Soon they will outnumber PCs. Within the next decade, virtually all mobile phones will be smartphones: 6 billion people will have a constant connection to the Internet. Remember the '$100 laptop' that some do-gooders at MIT hoped would change the world? Well, it arrived, as a cool little smartphone with a 4-inch screen."

We are not prepared.

That isn't a statement from a pundit. That is a statement from someone who is pitching new business each and every, single day. The reason we're not prepared has noting to do with screen sizes, connectivity or a highly un-tethered consumer. The reason we're not prepared is because the way people will use, consume, interact and create content is going to change as well. It's one thing to be sitting on a couch and messing around with YouTube, it's a totally different experience when you're watching an online video while you're standing there, holding on to a subway pole on the ride to work. Now, start thinking about media that's more active (Facebook, Twitter, etc...), connecting to people who are closer to you or being fed content that is contextual (based off of what you've done and who you are with plus where you are). It's all starting to get that much more exciting.

It's probably going to happen faster than you expect. It's probably happening right now.

Tags:

android

app

brand

branding brand

content

e commerce

e retailer

facebook

instagram

internet

internet retailer

iphone

local

mark zuckerberg

mobile

mobile age

mobile app

mobile commerce

mobile phone

online buying

online video

pc

smartphone

social media

technology

the daily beast

twitter

web

web browser

website development

youtube

The World Of Thumbonomics

Episode #302 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. This is also episode #21 of Across The Sound 2.0.

If we learned anything about the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook, it is that the world of Social Media and mobile is colliding faster than we had ever expected. Heather Lutze has been a part of many digital revolutions (she used to work at Yahoo) and is now the head of the Findability Group. I had the pleasure of seeing Heather speak many years ago on the basics of search engine optimization and search engine marketing, and I was taken by her logical and non-technical way of getting a very nascent audience to grasp (what was then) some fairly new ways of thinking (she also had so many tips and tricks that I found myself jotting down a bunch of cool info too). If you're still struggling with how to get found in the search engines, her first book, The Findability Formula - The Easy, Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing, is a great place to start. More recently, Lutze released her second book, Thumbonomics - The Essential Business Roadmap to Social Media & Mobile Marketing. The nationally-acclaimed digital marketing speaker and consultant always has an interesting story to share. Enjoy the conversation...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast #302.

Tags:

advertising podcast

blog

blogging

david usher

digital marketing

facebook

findability formula

heather lutze

instagram

itunes

marketing

marketing podcast

online social network

podcast

podcasting

social media

thumbonomics

yahoo