Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 368

The Future Of Marketing Innovation

Episode #242 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

What will it take for there to be true innovation in Marketing? It's not just a question that I kick around at the office, on the Blog or on this Podcast. It's something that Edward Boches grapples with daily. Edward is the Chief Innovation Officer for the advertising agency, Mullen. Mullen was recently celebrated as the #3 agency of the year of Ad Age's Agency A-List. Their work with clients like Zappos and Jet Blue has not only been innovative for it's traditional mass advertising, but because of how the agency works in a completely integrated fashion. Edward also has an amazing Blog called, Creativity Unbound. We first connected during a panel debate over on The Beancast and agreed that we should go toe-to-toe to discuss Marketing, innovation and the future of advertising. The time has come. 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 #242.

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chief innovation officer

chris brogan

christopher s penn

creativity unbound

digital dads

digital marketing

edward boches

facebook

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hugh mcguire

in over your head

itunes

jet blue

julien smith

librivox

managing the gray

marketing

marketing over coffee

media hacks

mullen

new marketing labs

online social network

podcast

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six pixels of separation

social media 101

social media marketing

strategy

trust agents

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twitter

zappos

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #36

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, 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:

Amount of profanity in git commit messages per programming language - Andrew Vos's Blog . "Both of my links this week are slightly NSFW. I know you've come to expect nothing less from me. As we marinate in data, analysis is everywhere. Recruiters are using developer activity in the community code tree Github to try and identify promising candidates based on their behavior. Here's a slightly different look at the data: How much people swear based on the programming they use. Spoiler alert: C++ and Ruby are pottymouths." (Alistair for Hugh).

The Man Who Conned The Pentagon - Playboy . "The second link is NSFW for the ads. It's a piece of investigative journalism done by Playboy that documents an almost comical suspension of disbelief by people who should know better. Claiming to have found a way to extract terrorist instructions encoded in Al Jazeera broadcasts, a self-proclaimed scientist took the US military on a merry ride that reads like the screenplay twin of The Informant." (Alistair for Mitch).

Computers Double the Number of Americans Involved in the Arts - ReadWriteWeb . "From the time I realized that I could Blog without learning HTML or figuring out how to host a website, I saw a bright future. One where anyone who had an idea and the willingness to share it could do so for free, and had the potential to reach the world, with the push of a 'publish' button. Since that moment, sometime in 2004, I've spent my working days toiling around this idea, always with a bent to the literary world (my particular interest). So I was heartened to see this study, which underlines how I have always thought of computers and the Internet: as the greatest tool ever for those who like to create and share what they make." (Hugh for Alistair).

Marketing - AVC - Fred Wilson's Blog . "How can I resist sending to Mitch a Blog post with the following premise: 'Marketing is what you do when your product or service sucks.' From no less than VC wizard Fred Wilson . While this is a provocative statement, the underlying message is critical for anyone building a business with the Web in mind: in the Internet age, if your product (start-up, web service, publishing business) does not sell itself - through people talking about it to their social network - then you are in for a very hard time. There are ways to help this happen, but in the end, the thing that matters is that people love what you do enough to tell other people about it. If you get that sauce right, then marketing is just what you do to help people talk about how much they love your stuff." (Hugh for Mitch).

US Gov. Software Creates 'Fake People' on Social Networks  - Examiner . "This could well be one of the more depressing news items I have read all week. Here's the gist: 'The US government is offering private intelligence companies contracts to create software to manage 'fake people' on social media sites.  Private security firms employed by the government have used the accounts to create the illusion of consensus on controversial issues. The contract calls for the development of 'Persona Management Software' which would help the user create and manage a variety of distinct fake profiles online. The job listing was discussed in recently leaked emails from the private security firm HBGary after an attack by Internet activist last week.' Depressed, angry, confused? Me too. I doubt this is  what we really have in mind when we talk about the future of online social networks. My personal hope is that this news item is false." (Mitch for Alistair).

Chris Anderson talks TED on Charlie Rose - TED . "The annual TED conference takes place next week in Long Beach. I was supposed to be there in person, but can't make it. In looking forward to what will be another amazing gathering of some of the smartest minds, I was both enthralled and captivated by this conversation between Chris Anderson (the head of TED ) and Charlie Rose . TED is a fascinating business case study because it's both a closed and exclusive group in one sense and one of the most open and sharing organizations on the other hand. Just listening to Chris Anderson talk about the values of TED and the power of the TED Talks is enough to make anyone want to take a shot at changing the world. Why? Because now anyone with a laptop and connectivity actually can." (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.

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alistair croll

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andrew vos

avc

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fred wilson

gigaom

github

great links

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html

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librivox

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managing bandwidth

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playboy

programming

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rednod

ruby on rails

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ted

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the book oven

the informant

year one labs

Read The Fine Print

Nobody reads the fine print.

It's either too small, too jargon-y, too legalese or too confusing. Marketing (and the brands we serve) is not doing itself a favor by promoting any kind of special offer knowing full well that the hoops a consumer has to jump through to actually get that special offer is nearly-impossible to overcome. Nobody likes the fine print and nobody reads the fine print, so this leads to a high level of friction and mistrust between consumers and brands (not to mention the pressure it puts on customer service post-sale).

It's not all about the brands.

Many industries (pharma, automotive, financial, mobile, etc...) have varying levels of regulations, laws and rules that govern how they can market their products and services, but there is a better way to make this work. Instead of having a bunch of unreadable fine print, why not have one simple line that says: "our products are highly regulated by the government. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please ensure that you can qualify by reading our terms and services available here..." and push them to a place (either online or by sending them something physical in the mail) where they can take the proper time to figure out if they qualify? Pushing that concept further: have two versions - one that is written in human language and the legal-ridden one as well.

"It's much more work and many consumers won't make that kind of effort."

The brand marketers who respond with that kind of statement are right. Marketing is hard work and getting a consumer to switch or try out their brand in the first place is a big deal. That doesn't mean that it should be done through misrepresentation or confusion simply because it makes the Marketer's jobs easier. The era of human business is upon us. People like Chris Brogan have been Blogging about this forever (his new company is actually called, Human Business Works), Gary Vaynerchuk's next book is called, The Thank You Economy, and it also focuses on the humanization of business, and finally, Seth Godin's latest book, Poke The Box, continues his evolving business philosophy around moving business, leadership and management from a machine-like process to a more human engagement.

Change is upon us.

In a world where the only connection a consumer had with a brand was through an advertisement, it made perfect sense that brands would have to cram all of that fine print into their messaging. But in a world where more and more people have access to many more brand channels, the fine print suddenly becomes both a deterrent and creates the aura of confusion. There is a better way, and (perhaps), by driving consumers to a place where they can better understand what this promotion means and how to qualify, they will not only have a better brand engagement, but a longer one that brings them into multiple channels. Unfortunately, we're still currently at that moment in time where the work we're doing with all of this fine print makes us as credible as a Saturday Night Live parody (which is, exactly, what it has become).

Can't you feel it?

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chris brogan

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fine print

gary vaynerchuk

human business

human business works

human engagement

leadership

legal

management

marketing

poke the box

promotions

saturday night live

seth godin

special offer

terms and services

the thank you economy

When Mobile Eats The Internet's Lunch

As mobile becomes more important to the overall Marketing mix, will it wind up diverting funds away from the Web?

Marketing is changing. Fast. Faster than most expected and faster than most organizations can keep up. The adoption of mobile devices is not to be taken lightly. For the past few years, I've made the argument for one-line of connectivity (not having separate strategies for mobile, social media and the Internet) - one strategy that deals with the connected consumer. In the ReadWriteWeb news items, Smartphones Outsell PCs, from February 8th, 2011 it was reported: "According to IDC, smartphone manufacturers shipped 100.9 million devices in the fourth quarter of 2010, while PC manufacturers shipped 92.1 million units worldwide. Or, more simply put, smartphones just outsold PCs for the first time ever. The number of smartphones sold in Q4 2010 was up 87.2% from the 53.9 million sold in Q4 2009. For the year, vendors shipped 302.6 million smartphones - an increase of 74.4% from the 173.5 million in 2009."

These are the early indications of what will be the inevitable shift from fixed connectivity to a completely mobile experience.

While brands are tinkering with mobile and tablet marketing (much in the same way they tinkered with the Web in the early 2000's), there is an opportunity (right now) to not get left behind and (for once) to get ahead, and take the lead prior to mass consumer adoption (which - in the case of mobile - is an inevitability). Too bad, we're already making some initial mistakes. The famous saying, "robbing Peter to pay Paul," is exactly where us Marketers find ourselves.

Taking from the Web to give to mobile.

Yesterday, MediaPost, ran a Blog post titled, Most Mobile Budgets Coming From Online. I suspected this was happening, but was sad to see it all come to life: "Among companies with near-term mobile marketing plans, only 20% have created a separate budget line item for mobile. The majority (60%) carve mobile budgets from online ad spending, according to a new survey of 350 executives with responsibility for mobile at brands, agencies, publishers and technology vendors. So mobile still has to battle it out for its share of ad spending against more established online channels like search, display and video."

Big mistake.

Marketing dollars allocated to the Internet are still grossly under allocated when you compare it to consumer consumption of all media channels (percentage wise). There are countless reasons and arguments for this. The underlying sentiment for this seems to be based on complacency: nobody wants to rock the boat for fear that shifting marketing dollars to other/newer channels may not return the same results they're currently getting (no matter how bad they may be). Now, with the rapid ascent of mobile, we're busy splitting hairs on an already under-allocated media channel.

It's up to us to correct this path. Now.

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readwriteweb

smartphone

social media

web marketing

Finding Space

Time to think. A place to think. Your own little space.

An artist uses a studio. A great business person has an office. As the world continues to untether because of laptops, tablets, mobile devices and persistent connectivity, those studios and offices have become moving targets. Musicians can record from their laptop. Any business person with a mobile can make their art in the corner cafe. The truth is that we - as Marketers - have never had a better time in our profession to be able to find the right space to come up with the right ideas.

It's all about the gear... and what you do with it.

Someone recently asked me how much time I spend at the office. It actually gave me pause. Even though we have two Twist Image offices in different cities that I spend quite a bit of time in (if I'm not travelling, my days are usually spent in one of the two offices), for some reason, I consider my MacBook Pro my "real" office. Over the years, the construct of a physical office means less and less to me as my ability to generate ideas, create and think about the clients we work with and the industry I serve is increasingly less about where I am, and much more about the people I am collaborating with and my access to the information I need or tools to create. 

MacBook Pro as office.

Yes, I'm in love with the look and feel of my Apple MacBook Pro (it's a piece of design beauty), but more than that, I often look at the closed computer and think to myself that if I were a painter, this computer would be like having a small portable studio with every type of canvas, paint, brush and color available at the touch of a finger. That's a powerful thought... and it's true. We used to find a physical space to get our work done, but even that is changing.

The future of work and space.

In April 2008, The Economist ran an article titled, The New Oases, that looked at how our new-found mobility was in the process of redefining and changing our physical work spaces: "In the 20th century architecture was about specialized structures--offices for working, cafeterias for eating, and so forth. This was necessary because workers needed to be near things such as landline phones, fax machines and filing cabinets, and because the economics of building materials favored repetitive and simple structures, such as grid patterns for cubicles... Buildings will have much more varied shapes than before. For instance, people working on laptops find it comforting to have their backs to a wall, so hybrid spaces may become curvier, with more nooks, in order to maximize the surface area of their inner walls."

It's a fascinating time to be working... however you define it and wherever you're doing it.

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apple

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the economist

the great untethering

the new oases

work

working

The Distraction Of Twitter

It's going to come to a head at some point soon. We're all going to realize that Twitter is the ultimate distraction.

The problem with saying that Twitter is a distraction comes at a cost. People don't want to think (or admit) that they are wasting their time - mostly because even defining what a "waste of time" is can be subjective (and who is to say that a distraction in one's life is also a waste of time?). I try not to kid myself. I realize that watching most prime time television is a waste of time and there are many other activities that us human beings engage in that don't really add much value to our own lives and the lives of people around us. Twitter could well be the next great distraction, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, so long as you can admit it to yourself and appreciate that we all need moments of distraction. The challenge comes in identifying when these little distractions wind up taking up too much time in our lives.

Twitter as a distraction engine.

Brands that turn to Twitter usually do so to ensure that:

If someone is talking about their brands, they can be (somewhat) responsive.

They can broadcast/engage with those who are interested in their brands.

Ultimately, Twitter is just a short, fast and easy way to share a message. As much as it has become a distraction for the majority of people, it is also a great place to poke your nose around to find out what is being talked about, what's in the news or to find something interesting to read, watch or listen to. All of those activities are - fundamentally - activities that are distracting you from doing the work you were meant to do.

Why is Twitter such a distraction?

The short messages (tweets) happen in bursts. This is both addictive to watch and so "snackable" that it's hard to resist.

It's easy to bang out a tweet in a couple of seconds... and it feels good to let people know what you're thinking/what you're up to.

It happens in real-time, so whenever you're engaged with Twitter, you are "in the moment."

People say, do and share interesting things.

It's the ultimate in reality programming. What's more interesting: to watch the story of people we don't know (or those that are made up) verses the story of people we do know or are interested in?

It's highly mobile. Tweeting or following Twitter is something that's easy and mindless to do when you're standing with one arm wrapped around the pole in a subway or have a handful of minutes while in-between meetings.

It's an easy way to follow and connect with new and interesting people.

A distraction is still a distraction. 

Some will take this Blog post as an indictment on Twitter. That is not the case. I use, like and connect with Twitter on a more-than-daily basis, but I'm cautious of it. I can see/feel how easy it is to sucked into the vortex of interesting quips, tweets, retweets, responding to messages, links and provocations. While I love that type of back-and-forth banter, the work I do for our clients at Twist Image takes precedence. So too does my writing (this Blog, my newspaper and magazine columns, my future books), speaking and Podcasting. While I can appreciate the value of Twitter, it falls well below the value I get from creating more substantive ideas in other forums (my own art). Twitter and the tweets that go along with them are fleeting moments that disappear almost as quickly as they are published.

I'm ok with Twitter as an engine of distraction, but I often wonder if the more serious power users see it in the same vein?

Tags:

brand

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engagement

magazine article

mobile

newspaper column

podcasting

prime time television

public speaking

reality programming

snackable content

story telling

tweet

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twitter

Blogging Is Dead (Again)

Did you read the news? Blogging is dead. Mostly because young people are just not that into it.

Why go through the hassle of thinking up unique thoughts, trying to formulate them into sentences and paragraphs, and then pull it all together in a text-based Blog post? Why go through that, when you can tweet your life away in 140-characters (or less) on Twitter, update your Facebook status, shoot a quick video with your webcam and upload it to YouTube or just post whatever is going on in your life to a tumblr lifestream? In a surefire way to draw attention and traffic, The New York Times' latest piece of linkbait is an article titled, Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter. And, of course, yours truly fell for it: hook, line and sinker...

Blogging isn't really dead.

Here's the main crux of the news item via the New York Times article: "The Internet and American Life Project at the Pew Research Center found that from 2006 to 2009, blogging among children ages 12 to 17 fell by half; now 14 percent of children those ages who use the Internet have blogs. Among 18-to-33-year-olds, the project said in a report last year, blogging dropped two percentage points in 2010 from two years earlier. Former bloggers said they were too busy to write lengthy posts and were uninspired by a lack of readers. Others said they had no interest in creating a blog because social networking did a good enough job keeping them in touch with friends and family."

Big shocker there? Young people prefer shorter, quicker and more direct methods of communication.

So, is Blogging truly waning? Here's another tidbit from the article: "While the younger generation is losing interest in blogging, people approaching middle age and older are sticking with it. Among 34-to-45-year-olds who use the Internet, the percentage who blog increased six points, to 16 percent, in 2010 from two years earlier, the Pew survey found. Blogging by 46-to-55-year-olds increased five percentage points, to 11 percent, while blogging among 65-to-73-year-olds rose two percentage points, to 8 percent."

Blogging isn't dead. Blogging is publishing and publishing online is just beginning to evolve.

It's too bad that journalists, certain individuals and even some brands don't see/understand the value and merits of Blogging. We're not talking about a communications channel here. Blogging's true value comes from the fact that it's a publishing platform. Plain and simple. With the evolution of the software behind it, we are no longer in the world of individual online journaling, but at the beginning of a huge shift in publishing. Now, anyone, anywhere can have a thought and publish it in text, images, audio and/or video instantly and for free to the world (online, mobile and touch tablet). That's profound and that's powerful, but it's not something that's easy and that should be done by everybody.

Blogging is hard.

Blogging is hard because writing is hard. Writing is hard because finding the time to do real critical thinking and then to put those thoughts down in writing is even more complex. Reading, research, critical thinking, writing, editing and publishing isn't like posting a picture to tumblr or texting off a tweet. They're different beasts and they deserve different forms of metrics and comparison.

Make the comparisons comparable.

Blogs enjoyed huge popularity because when they were first introduced online, it was one of the few ways that an individual could publish. There were not many alternatives (like joining and sharing through an online social network). Those who weren't truly "writers" were Bloggers out of necessity. As more options came online to express ourselves that were quicker and easier than writing a Blog post, the migration by the general mass populous to those newer channels were an obvious exodus.

What's left? 

In a world on instant publishing online, Blogging is just beginning to take on its role in the pantheon of publishing. Blogging (and Bloggers) now have their own and focused audience. The fragmentation means that we can better quantify (and qualify) those who Blog (and those who read them). It's even fair game to question what, exactly, a Blog is? (i.e. is Huffington Post or TechCrunch a Blog, news outlet or publisher... or all of the above?).

I'd argue that as mature as Blogging is, it's just getting started. What would you say?

(hat-tip: Mark Evans ).

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online journal

online publishing

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pew research center

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the new york times

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writing

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The Rise Of The Online Influencer

Episode #241 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

In the early days of online communities, Valeria Maltoni helped build Fast Company Magazine's online community. Since then, Valeria has been a fireball of passion around the arenas of Digital Marketing, Social Media, Online Community and the true power of an online influencer. Her highly popular Blog, Conversation Agent, acts as a hub for many of her peers in the Marketing industry as a "must-read" Blog (it's true for me!). We met many years ago, but never got around to recording a Podcast. Well, the time has come. If you're interested in what it takes to build an online community and how to uncover and nurture your online influencers, then this is the show for you. 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 #241.

Tags:

advertising

bite size edits

blog

blogging

blue sky factory

book oven

cast of dads

cc chapman

chris brogan

christopher s penn

conversation agent

digital dads

digital marketing

facebook

facebook group

hugh mcguire

in over your head

itunes

julien smith

librivox

managing the gray

marketing

marketing over coffee

media hacks

new marketing labs

online social network

podcast

podcasting

six pixels of separation

social media 101

social media marketing

strategy

trust agents

twist image

twitter

valeria maltoni

Are You An Entrepreneur Or A Business Owner?

There is a huge chasm between being an Entrepreneur and being a business owner?

An Entrepreneur is more than someone with an idea. An Entrepreneur is more than someone with an ability to take that idea and execute on it. An Entrepreneur is much more than an individual who is willing and able to secure the funding and resources to make their idea happen. A true Entrepreneur is someone who has an uncanny desire to create the future. Too many people in too many places focus on everything but that critical aspect of what it takes/means to be an Entrepreneur... and it bears repeating:

An Entrepreneur is someone who has an uncanny desire to create the future.

The best business models and the companies with the most innovation all started with an individual (or a team of people) who believed that the future success of their industry will look very different from its current state. Once everything kicks into place (funding, resources, etc...) something happens... and this is where the wheels of innovation can slow down (or come to a complete stop).

Most Entrepreneurs eventually become business owners.

Business owners think a lot less about creating the future because they are much too concerned with both mitigating risk and minimizing mistakes. There's nothing wrong with being a business owner, but it's an important distinction to make. The minute most Entrepreneurs have a semblance of success, their posture does change and they become/look like a business owner. It's normal, it's common, but it is kind of tragic. It's understandable in one sense, because with that success comes a bigger payroll and the Entrepreneur is now financially responsible for much more than their own rent (families now count on this person to deliver). Success also breeds complacency. It's easy to keep successfully doing what works and pull a fair wage for a fair product/service out of the world. No harm, no foul.

Perpetual entrepreneurship is hard.

You can poke fun at Steve Jobs and everything Apple does all you like, but ask yourself this: if you were a computer and software manufacturer, would you have the perpetual entrepreneurial guts to take a 180 turn and start making a phone? What about digital music players? What about the platform to sell music? What about a touch-tablet (after the failure of so many in this, exact, arena)? The amazing story of Apple (and many other brands) comes from their ability to do much more than just be business owners. It comes from their entrepreneurial spirit to innovate.

Is there a critical path or roadmap for the rest of us?

There are some common threads that are weaved through the most entrepreneurial individuals and organizations (in fact, it will be my next business book... how's that for a tease?). For some, it will involve their ability to embrace a new business model, for others it will involve their ability to respect the business owner that they have become while still embracing their internal Entrepreneur (and letting that mindset roam free). Regardless, the future is not going to be established by the business owners of today. The future is going to be created by the entrepreneurs who have the vision, business mindset and courage to not fall into the business owner's mindset of mitigating risk and minimizing mistakes.

What's your take on entrepreneurs?

Tags:

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business owner

create the future

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entrepreneur

entrepreneurial spirit

ideation

innovation

perpetual entrepreneurship

steve jobs

success

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The 50 Most Innovative Companies

Where do you pull inspiration from?

Some of the best ideas (be it for clients of Twist Image or words you read in this Blog) come from reading, learning and hearing about new and innovative companies. The ones that really do break the rules. During my years in the music industry, I was often asked if there was a formula for success when it came to a band that would break through. My standard answer was/is: "every rule is an exception." Over the past decade-and-a-half, I've become ever-more fascinated by how similar the success of a band is to that of a company. The most innovative companies do things differently. They think differently and they're willing to risk what they know for something new (sometimes it works... sometimes it doesn't).

The 50 most innovative companies.

The latest issue of Fast Company is now on the stands and the cover story is The World's Most Innovative Companies 2011. While the magazine is always well-worth buying (personally, I never miss an issue), take a look at how innovative Fast Company was with the online version of this article. They make the content flow in a smart and highly-usable way (I wish more publishers would do this kind of development for their important stories). There are some companies on this list that will surprise you, while there are other that you'll expect/anticipate. Regardless, it's an amazing read that should inspire you to re-think your business, the industry you serve and how you treat your consumers.

Dig in... and innovate.

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innovative company

inspiration

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the worlds most innovative companies 2011

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