I’m going to add to the slew of social media 2009 predictions, but I’ll keep it short and sweet.
1. Continuing growth of twitter usage
2. Continuing growth of LinkedIn
3. Transpiring those to actual meet-ups (conferences, socials, etc)
4. Mobile business cards ( quick and easy exchange of contact information)
I’ve been reading a lot of blog posts talking about business and the economy and it seems most of them are all about reacting. A certain amount may be necessary in some instances, but in my opinion now is the time to put full efforts into social media. It is this grass roots type of movement, that if you can get it going, can really help a business by utilizing word of mouth. A recent post of Jermiah Owyang’s shows all of the recent layoffs in the social media industry. This scares me to think that businesses are quickly going to extreme measures. What do you guys think? Am I totally off?
The news has come out the Bill Gates and Microsoft have ditched Seinfeld which I am really bummed about. They have also release a new commercial aimed at Apple’s stab at the nerdy PC guy. I have to admit it is pretty thought provoking.
The new Seinfeld and Bill Gates commercials have me scratching my head, but I have to admit laughing as well. A Seinfeld fan at heart I can’t help but like the commercials even though they make no sense and are close to 4 minutes long. I wonder how much each one of these costs to air, but then again these guys are loaded.
The first commercial was just Jerry and Bill at a cheap shoe store similar to Payless where they argue about what shoe is better. The next episode has the two living with a family in order to see what life is like outside of their own.
In the end they are selling Microsoft Vista, but I think it is great to do something so different. It’s getting guys like me to blog and talk about it all over the internet which is social media at it’s core. I think the true point they are trying to make is that they are stepping out and getting in touch with the average person. I hope there will be more to come.
I’ve been checking out a new tool called Yammer, which is a twitter-like api that is used from communicating with other employees within your company. So far it looks like a meet and greet with no real productivity. Anyone can start their own Yammer network and discuss current projects or happenings within the group.
I see some potential here in reaching out to other areas within Cisco. I posted a recent update; ” I’m over here in San Jose in Cisco on Cisco.” and received a few replies regarding the purpose of my group.
I recently went in to att and got a blackberry curve and switched out my sim from my iphone. I’ve gotten fed up with the horrible reception, dropped calls, missed calls straight to voice mail..on and on and on. After just a days use of the blackberry curve I’m extremely happy with it as a phone and it’s great reception. The speakerphone quality is exceptional. I must say I do miss the iphone as a device though. I am feeling sad to give up the iphone camera and music player…Oh well. I need a phone.
I’m in the process of writing a case study for Cisco IT on social media tools LinkedIn Answers and Twitter. The challenges have been how to effectively utilize these tools in order to show ROI.
When first joining twitter, we got a lot of negative feedback about the structure of our posts from the community, which were very similar to that of an rss feed. Working in a large corporation, there is still quite a bit of ambiguity in what can and cannot be said on the internet in many of my colleagues minds. I guess that is to be expected in a large company such as Cisco, but I am very happy to see an increase in converasation around the topic.
Our twitter account has slowly evolved from a Cisco IT news feed to a real person with thoughts and opinions in the IT industry as well as some Cisco recommended resources.
LinkedIn answers has been a great tool as well that has been an enabler of conversations and relationship building. I was quite surprised with the amount of positive feedback that I have been getting in response to some of my posts relating to Cisco IT.
In the end we are measuring amount of relationships, engagements, and traffic back to Cisco IT and we are still learning what strategies and tools can work best for a group that is a Cisco resource for best practices and case studies.
Chris Brogan just wrote a blog post on twitter marketing agency Cherp. The company advertises that they can can a twitter account and turn it into a sweet melody by creating a twitter marketing strategy.
With Twitter’s open api, it is only a matter of time until we see different forms of this micro-blogging platform used in all kinds of unimaginable forms.
On the site they say twitter “..not only provides brands the ability to deliver relevant, SEO friendly messaging, but to connect and listen to consumer.” There is also the option for platform integration. My skeptisim comes in with the quesiton of whether or not a service such Cherp can not only broadcast and listen but have meaningful, transparent conversations. It will be very interesting to see how twiter continues to play a role in business models.
Forums, or discussion boards are one of the oldest types of communication and collaboration on the internet. This does not mean that it is an aging and irrelevant form of social meadia though. I was talking to a friend of mine, Brian Ellefritz, about the history and effectiveness of forums, and it is interesting to see that they are still widely popular on sites that have a large community and following. Forums allow anyone to join in on conversation or start discussions. In my opinion there is something about forums that is addictive. The ability to tap the minds of multiple people on a subject is exhilerating and gratifying when solutions are presented and problems are solved. The main question is whether or not a particular site can be a feeding ground for community forums. The answer for this has always been a bit vague in my mind as a website owner of a couple of sites. Number one, I think the site has to already be getting large amount of visitors, and secondly, the site has to niche enough for people to feel that they can go into a discussion and know that there will be others who are knowledgable on a particular subject.
Blog comments are social media
My girlfriend has a blog called Taxable Interest where she writes about tax, the profession, and the grad program she is currently enrolled in. Her recent post talks about an interesting book she has been reading Ahead of the Curve, by Philip Delves Broughton. Sadly to say she has ceased to continue writing due to her busy schedule. This post got a comment from Philip himself.
It just goes to show how people or companies can use social media tools such as blogsearch.google.com to find branding key terms and connect with others no matter who they may be.