Know More Media Network Feed

Michelle Obama -- Public Speaking 101 [CareerSuperStar]

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:13:32 -0500

Dynamic communication is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become a dynamic communicator, you need to learn how to do three things: 1) become an excellent conversationalist; 2) write clearly and succinctly; and 3) present well – to groups of two to 200.

I’m a political junky. I love watching the conventions – although this week, I must admit that I switch back and forth between the speeches and the US Open tennis. Besides hearing what people have to say, I enjoy the conventions because I like to watch the speakers, to see who does well on the platform and who does just so so.

Have you been watching the Democrats this week? Which speeches have you enjoyed?

Tuesday night, Michelle Obama did a talk at the Democratic National Convention that rocked. And she did it by using one of the oldest presentation techniques in the world. She told stories.

Stories are a great way to communicate your ideas. They help you related to your audience on a human level. However, stories have to make a bigger point – one that’s goes beyond the immediacy of the story itself.

Tracy Kidder, a Pulitzer prize winning author, and a great storyteller in his own right, makes a great point: “All stories are local, all good stories are universal.”

On Tuesday, Michelle Obama told the story of her families – the one in which she was raised, and the only she and Senator Obama have created. The stories she told about growing up with her parents and brother and about her courtship and marriage to the Senator was the local part. They recounted her life.

However, these stories were designed to make a bigger, more universal point. And that point was something like this: “We may look different from other presidents and first ladies, and my husband may have a funny name, but once you take away the superficial differences, we’re like you, and most Americans.”

Anyone who has shared a room with a sibling could relate to Michelle Obama’s story about staying awake and talking with her brother after they went to bed. Anyone who has parents – like mine – who scrimped and saved so their kids could go to college can relate to her story about her father struggling with MS, yet going to work every day. Anyone who has children can relate to her story about Senator Obama driving very slowly and carefully as he brought her and their first born daughter home from the hospital.

These are all great personal – or as Tracy Kidder would say, local, stories. However, they have a universal message – “We’re like most Americans. We want the same things as most Americans. Our skin is a different color and my husband has a funny name, but that doesn’t matter.” The universal point of the talk was pretty clear – to me at least -- Barack and Michelle Obama are more similar to most Americans than they are dissimilar.

The common sense point here is simple. Dynamic presenters use stories to help make their point. They tell stories that are personal for them, but have a universal point. If you want to connect with your audience and sell them your ideas, you need to tell meaningful stories from your life experiences, and then show your audience how these stories relate to the bigger picture. People relate to stories. Your presentations will be much better if you use them to make your points.

That’s my take on the power of stories and dynamic presentations. Please leave a comment telling us how you’ve used stories to make and enhance your ideas in presentations you’ve given. I truly appreciate and value all of your comments. Thanks for reading – and writing.

Bud

Dueling Comments: A Novel Novel? [ThePublishingSpot]

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:23:47 -0500

Do you want to read books with movies built into the story?

Literary blogger Sarah Weinman unpacked a Variety story about how CSI creator Anthony Zuiker just landed an expensive book deal with Dutton, as the article explains, to create "a publishing hybrid that broadens traditional book reading into a multiplatform experience that includes filmed components and an interactive social networking site."

Myself, I'm excited to see what happens when digital book readers, web video, and writers finally collide. While this might not be the project that succeeds, eventually, somebody will figure it out. Weinman's readers were mixed, to say the least.

Crime writer Bill Crider sarcastically noted the lazy beauty of the book deal: "And think of it: seven figures for three books, for which Mr. CSI has only to write 60-page outlines."

Novelist Karen Olson worried about what this novel means for books: "Do we want kids to grow up not able to read a 250 page book without some sort of video stimulation? That's really sad."

One poster added a prediction: "I bet my life that in 12 years, the traditional publishing industry (as we know it) is a ghost - there will be event books, and there will be goofs who self-publish, and everything else will be some techno hybrid."

Applied to speak at LeWeb3 08 in Paris on Dec 9th, 10th [Webmetricsguru]

Marshall — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:18:35 -0500

I applied to speak at LeWeb3 08 this year - I attended last year as press, but I felt I had more to say, and it was on the stage. Well, we’ll see if they pick up on my proposal - the theme this year is “Love”. I’m getting into liking to speak - wanting to be in the larger stage. It’s one thing to write about what others say - I’m doing a lot of that - but I also want to be part of the action.

Hmm… Love and Web Analytics, and Art. Why not? I can definitely talk about Love - especially if that’s what they want to hear in Paris. And I would not be stretching things much.

Here’s what I proposed I’d present - Stay Tuned. I’d really Love to speak at LeWeb3 08.

Oh well, we’ll see.

A brief synopsis (200-250 words) outlining the talk the speaker proposes. This must very clear address how the talk relates to the conference theme of “love”:

As a Web Analyst and an Artist I’ve been most interested in Social Networks for participating in the “global village” and as a platform to infuse more love in our lives. We can measure the impact of Social Networks by those things which would not have happened without them (ie: Tweetups, Virtual Friends that become Real Friends), the much larger web of social connections that can be leverged for the good. As an analyst, I’ve wanted to measure the effects of Social Network togetherness (that can be called a form of love).

Concepts like “engagement” (an investment of time and energy) can be measured, and therefore, concepts of love and togetherness, can be defined, and measured, even if the act of love, and love itself, is defies precise measurement. I want to say that I love my friends, and I could have never met many of them without Facebook and Twitter.

It was the Social Network, and love of Art, that bought me to Paris twice last year and to Aix, to see my hero, and my favorite painter, Paul Cezanne, to walk though Mt,St Victore,, to connect with friends that I could have never known, so easily, had it not been for the internet - I’d like to talk about how that all happened. I’d like to talk about how Social Networks made my life better, and how it can be a constructive force in yours, and in anyone’s life.

As an additional note: I’m prepared to present the first set of Social Media Standards, crafted by my committee at the Web Analytics Association (you might say, crafted out of love) and how it might be used, to measure all the above).

The Ten Commandments of Goal Setting [CareerSuperStar]

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:27:57 -0500

Outstanding performance is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become an outstanding performer, you need to do three things: 1) become a lifelong learner; 2) set and achieve high goals; and 3) get organized.

Gary Ryan Blair is The Goals Guy. He helps business owners, corporate executives and sales professionals manage their time, set priorities and stay focused so they achieve their goals, grow their business and be more successful. His website is www.goalsguy.com.

I was on Gary’s site the other day and came across his Ten Commandments of Goal Setting. Gary presents some great common sense advice in these Ten Commandments. Take a look for yourself…

1. Thou Shall Be Decisive
  Success is a choice. You must decide what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it. No one else can, will, or should do that for you.

2. Thou Shall Stay Focused
  A close relative to being decisive, but your ability to sustain your focus from beginning to end determines the timing and condition of your outcomes.

3. Thou Shall Welcome Failure
  The fundamental question is not whether you should accept failure. You have no choice but to expect it as a temporary condition on the path way of progress. Rather, the question is how to anticipate failure and redirect resources to grow from the experience.

4. Thou Shall Write Down Thy Goals
  Your mind while blessed with permanent memory is cursed with lousy recall. People forget things. Avoid the temptation of being cute. Write down your goals.

5. Thou Shall Plan Thoroughly
  Planning saves 10 to 1 in execution. Proper planning prevents poor performance.

6. Thou Shall Involve Others
  Nobody goes through life alone. Establish your own "Personal Board of Directors", people whose wisdom, knowledge and character you respect to help you achieve your goals.

7. Thou Shall Take Purposeful Action
  Success is not a spectator sport - achievement demands action. You cannot expect to arrive at success without having made the trip.

8. Thou Shall Reward Thyself
  Rewards work! Think of what you will give yourself as a result of your hard work, focus and persistence - you deserve it!

9. Thou Shall Inspect What Thy Expect
  The Shelf life of all plans is limited. No plan holds up against opposition. Everything changes. Therefore inspect frequently and closely, it's an insurance policy on your success.

10. Thou Shall Maintain Personal Integrity
  Maintain your commitment to your commitment. Set your goals promise yourself that you will achieve them. Eliminate wiggle room and excuses. That's personal integrity!

Pretty good stuff, don’t you think? Please leave a comment telling us which one or two of these ten commandments resonates the most with you.

Personally, I like number 2 – stay focused. I like it because Gary is right on here. You have to remain focused on your goals. That’s why I suggest that you write them and review them daily. I keep mine in a Word document that I can easily access. A friend uses his goals as his screen saver. That way, they are never far from his consciousness.

Milestones are another way to stay focused on your goals. When you break your goals into manageable accomplishments they are easier to achieve. I like to set annual goals with quarterly milestones. I have found that three months is short enough to help me maintain focus, and long enough to give me time to meet my milestones.

We’re coming to the end of 2008. Where are you on your goals for this year? Gary can help you achieve them. His new campaign, the 100 Day Challenge kicks off on September 22, less than a month from today, and 100 days prior to the end of 2008. I’ll provide you with more information as we get closer to the date.

The common sense point here is simple. You need to set goals if you want to be successful. Your goals should be S.M.A.R.T. – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results oriented, Time bound. You need to focus on your goals. Keep them with you. Review them every day. Milestones help you stay focused on your goals. Set quarterly milestones for your annual goals. Don’t worry if you are behind on your 2008 goals. You have more than 100 days to meet them. Focus, work hard and achieve your goals. It’s not too late.

That’s my take on goals and goal setting. What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your best tips for setting and achieving your goals. Thanks for reading – and writing.

Bud

Just like brands, presidential candidates must keep their "promises". [BrandingPost]

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:11:30 -0500

The notion of a political candidate as a "brand", with brand attributes and living up to the implied promises made to buyers, or in this case voters, is nothing new. This election season, however, the failure of either candidate to live up to the brand attributes that got them this far may have starker consequences. This seems more pronounced with the "new brand", Barack Obama, who has the most to lose if he enables his "competitors", John McCain's campaign team, to mis-position his "product". Team Obama, if they want success in the "marketplace" in November, would be best advised to follow the old football saying that you must dance with who brung ya. Translation: abandon at your peril that which made you successful in the first place. NYT columnist Tom Friedman makes mention of this today.

"Obama got this far because many voters projected onto him that he could be the leader of an American renewal. They know we need nation-building at home now — not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, not in Georgia, but in America. Obama cannot lose that theme."

If you're an Obama supporter, you've got to be getting nervous that the "theme" is fading from view. Is your guy is backing off on his brand promises? Next time, we'll take a look at how McCain is doing.

Post From The Past: Depression Education, Cause Alliances & Social Media Communications [HealthCareVox]

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:09:50 -0500

In the second edition of my "Posts from the Past" series, I'd like to highlight a group of articles I wrote in 2007 about pharma-non-profit cause alliances and social media. Given that my blogging time is getting ever-shorter, I'm not sure when I'll publish another series like this, but revisiting them is always lots of fun for me. To read the series, please click here.

B1, Workplace Fatigue, and Memory Loss [BrainBasedBusiness]

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:38:05 -0500

Sleep apnea can cause serious memory loss a new study suggests. According to the University of California, tissue loss is detected in areas of the brain that store memories, and relate to sleep apnea. Does it happen to you?

We're already aware that people who awaken multiple times nightly because of breathing difficulties, tend to suffer more from chronic workplace fatigue. But we had less research to affirm the strong connections between that sleep apnea and memory problems.

Interestingly, vitamin B1 or thiamine may be able to help restore memory loss from sleep difficulties. It’s a commonly held belief that B1 helps dying brain cells to recover, and if that's the case, it's also true that brain cells for memory storage may be enabled again through large amounts of this vitamin.

B1 results are still being tested for its ability to move glucose into cells, preventing cell death through oxygen starvation. Researchers Rajesh Kumar and Ronald Harper hope to let us know more soon about the proven effects of B1 for memory restoration.

Have you taken B1 to increase memory or add brainpower?

Publishing Spotted: Fake Your Life [ThePublishingSpot]

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:23:44 -0500

Unhappy with your life? Write a new one!

Over at the Poet's Market blog, they have a fake author biography contest running until September. Check it out: "since we just recently released the 2009 Poet's Market, I can offer that up as a prize to whoever writes the best fake bio. You can make your bio funny, outrageous, horrible, seriously intense, etc. Just keep it under 100 words (hey, most publications cap it off at 50 words)." (via Practicing Writer)

How much should a great book cost? Edward Champion has some good reporting on the subject, along with breaking news about an upcoming William T. Vollmann book.

Look out for Justin Theroux. Besides starring in two of my favorite mind-bending films -- Inland Empire and Mulholland Drive -- he's also a budding scriptwriter. The Script Reader blog has a breathless feature about the man who could singlehandedly kill the skinny-neurotic-loser-screenwriter stereotype. Dig it:

"If you haven’t been following actor Justin Theroux’s bourgeoning screenwriting career, he co-wrote Tropic Thunder and recently signed up to write the Iron Man sequel. While this is good news for Justin Theroux, I think it’s even better news for screenwriters ... I smell an opportunity…to re-brand." (image via WireImage.com)

Customer Service Carnivale Featured at Blog Carnival [CustomersAreAlways]

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:39:56 -0500

I got the news the other day...

The Customer Service Carnivale will be the Featured Carnivale over at Blog Carnival next Tuesday, September 2nd! Finally! It's nice to be recognized once in awhile, eh?

I will be hosting the next carnivale on Monday, September 1st over at Online Business Resources. Have a customer service tip, story, or news to share? Click here to submit your article or blog post to the carnivale! Deadline for submissions is this Saturday, August 30.

LonelyGirl 15 Followup [Webmetricsguru]

Marshall — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:29:54 -0500

I wrote about LonelyGirl15 two years ago when the story first came out (see The whole story about Lonelygirl15 as revealed by the New York Times, Pluto’s fate according to Lonelygirl15) but lost track of what was happening with that story until tonight when I saw a post in TechCrunch -EQAL Shares Details On LonelyGirl15 Followup - which said that not only was the original tactic successful, but it had now spawned a new Social Network.

As part of the new series, LG15.com will be relaunching as a hybrid blog/social network designed to further the level of viewer immersion. Equal’s founders say that they’ve built the social network themselves because it gives them greater freedom during the course of the shows (for example, they could modify the look and feel of the site depending on recent events in each story), but that the network isn’t designed to compete with the likes of Facebook or MySpace.

Having thought about, especially in light of my earlier post today, I think building hybrid Social Networks is a mistake - more of an overall waste of time and money.

I’m sure this venture will be successful in the short term - people want to create reality around characters, even if the character is fictional, as is LonelyGirl15; according to TechCrunch:

There have been a number of attempts to create “distorted realities” online through online shows and games, but few of these have managed to take off - users generally find it hard to suspend their disbelief enough to enjoy themselves. EQAL’s approach may be able to skirt this issue by catering to hardcore and casual fans alike, allowing users to consume as much content as they’re comfortable with.

I guess you can have as much of LonelyGirl15 as you want - the creators of this yawn are not going to remind us that it’s not a real story … and use Social Media as a means to captivate people.

What really needs to happen is using the Social Graph as a service - which FaceBook has begun to do, except I’m thinking way beyond Facebook - that’s just the beginning.

By the way, I haven’t looked at any of the recent LonelyGirl15 videos, but I’m sure TechCrunch is tracking it all - I saw it as just another way to get attention, and it worked.

Welcome, Mac's World Listeners! [TheDemoMemo]

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:17:08 -0500

I took this picture of me and Mac the last time I was on the radio with him. Bradshaw refused to get his photo taken, but I managed to get one fuzzy image of his hand giving me "the hand."

Thanks for stopping by my blog. As you can see, I haven't posted in more than a month. I've taken a little summer break...and things are changing with my host Know More Media. They've disbanded the company as I knew it, but are allowing me to blog here until I decide what I want to do. I have a new blog in the works, but the design is not ready yet. I'll leave a post on this blog when I'm ready to launch.

Anyhow, fasten your seatbelts...today should be a lot of fun. Mac doesn't allow me to take email questions on the air when he is gone, but you can leave a comment here. Be sure to leave me your email if you would like a response.

For those of you who live outside of Des Moines, the show will be streaming live from 1:30 to 3:40 p.m. CST. Just click here and click on the "Listen Live" button on the upper right hand side of the page.

Claire, "The Demo Diva"

P.S. Go Obama!

Thoughts about Social Networking - where it needs to go [Webmetricsguru]

Marshall — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:12:59 -0500

I attended Optimization Lunch today with a co-worker for a SWIG Roundtable on testing and optimizing key pages using Analytics. While I saw some similarities between Usability Testing and Web Analytics (a convergence of sorts), it suddently “hit” me where the future of Conversion Marketing and Social Networks lie - it’s in the Social Graph.

Why do I say that? In flash, it came to me. Here’s what I saw.

Most business entities (companies, corporations, for example) are building sites and want to covert or inform visitors - jumping on Social Networking, Social Media and User Generated Content might seem like the right next step.

However, people are also saturated with having to put the same information in multiple places - so much so, they don’t want to join every social network they come across, they can’t even handle the social networks they belong to now - there are so many demands on our time and attention.

What I think needs to happen, is not more Social Networks, not more filling out of information in disparte sites, but less.

For example, everytime I order something from Amazon, it should communicate with my Facebook or MySpace account - any time go to a site and fill out a form, and it has a social networking component to it - it should connect, via a module, to the Social Graph.

Not more Social Networks are needed, but less.

What’s needed, instead, is Social Networking as a Service that all sites plug into - that’s where we’re going - that’s the only future that makes any sense to me.

How fast we get there - I don’t know - it seems Tim Berners Lee’s Social Graph is the right direction (again) - we need to create applications that pull in the Social Graph, and write back to it - so the Social Graph becomes a repository for our lives and activities.

Does that create a threat to our privacy? Yes and No.

Yes, it does, if the Goverment can get a hold of it and control it - and it will want to do that - and should not be allowed to control the Social Graph of anyone. But, on the positive side, having one place that is authorative, for your social graph, makes it much easier to prevent mistakes and inaccuracies in your data that, currently, are spread all over the place.

So, that’s what I think - our future - the future of Social Networks - is as an online service for applications writing to and pulling data from the Social Graph.

Now, lets start making it happen.

John Marshall’s Pizza Party in Santa Cruz - pictures are up [Webmetricsguru]

Marshall — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:47:50 -0500

There’s a Facebook Photo Album of the Pizza Party I attended last Thusday night in Santa Cruz at John Marshall’s house - it was great - maybe I should have stayed longer (I only appeared in 1 photo, #49 of the album - below):

The party was a “who’s who” of the Search World, both Paid and Organic. In a way, I’m both an insider and an outsider to it - but I really appreciated John and his wife’s hospitatlity in inviting me.

By the way, I posted about the SES Party in Santa Cruz last week, along with two videos I took which suppliment the John Marshall Photo Album nicely.

Ode to Facilitation [BrainBasedBusiness]

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:55:57 -0500

When asked how he’s shaking things up at Ford Model’s, John Caplan said, "I’m more like the conductor of an orchestra, than an old-fashioned executive.” Does that describe your approach?

Caplan's orchestra metaphor reminds us that wherever you spot insights or innovations at a deeper level you’ll also see a maestro conductor, or facilitator. So why does it rarely happen?

Instead of the fine interchanges found in peak-performance orchestras, you often find potentially good discussions truncated instead, because:

- one voice dominates
- strong demands for one-sided view
- a few people diminishing other voices
- anger rising whenever topics heat up

While topnotch catalyst skills can be mastered by most … they rarely show up at firms, that lack facilitation’s finer points. Here are 5 mind-bending tactics championed at the MITA Brain Based Renewal Center:

1. Create a pace slow enough to challenge reluctant participants, while at the same time quick enough to motivate more vociferous staff.

2. Hear participants’ perspectives, so that each offering made is valued and woven into the wider discussion’s fabric.

3. Withhold personal views in favor of learning from and expanding new ideas from all opposing views expressed.

4. Ensure all speak and feel heard, by affirming the positive and downplaying disrespectful or negative comments.

5. Formulate an action plan based on a culmination of ideas presented on both sides in ways that bring mutually beneficial results to the group’s wider community.

What top facilitation skills enable deep dives into key issues where you work?

Four Questions for Developing Your Personal Brand [CareerSuperStar]

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:45:12 -0500

Positive personal impact is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to create positive personal impact, you need to do three things: 1) create, build and nurture your personal brand; 2) dress for success; and 3) know and follow the basic rules of etiquette.

Have you created your personal brand yet? What is it? How do you use it in your career and life? Please leave a comment sharing your personal branding experiences with us.

I get lots of questions about how to create, build and nurture a personal brand. I always advise people to the Three C’s of branding. Your brand needs to be clear, consistent and constant – meaning that people need to be able to easily understand your brand, your brand must be consistent with who you are as a person and you need to stay on brand all the time in all you do.

I’ve found that clarity is the C that gives people the most trouble. The August 2008 issue of Women’s Edge Magazine had an interesting article written by Tom Stevens and called “Four Questions…To Sharper Thinking and Focused Summaries” that can help with clarifying your personal brand.

Interestingly, the article is not about personal branding, but how to get your projects on the radar screen of senior executives. However, I find that Tom’s four questions work well for someone trying to create a strong personal brand. These four questions are simple, but require some thought.

• What? What do I do?
• Why? Why is it important?
• How? How do I do it?
• So What? Why does this matter in the long run?

Let me use my Common Sense Guy brand as an example.

What? I help individual people, teams and entire organizations succeed by applying their common sense.
Why? Common sense is often overlooked. Most problems have simple answers that can be solved by the application of time tested, common sense principals.
How? I coach individuals. Facilitate team building workshops. Analyze organizations and suggest and help implement strategic changes.
So What? Individual, team and organizational success require constant renewal. Common sense says it’s important for people, teams and organizations to periodically review their goals and aspirations, as well as their progress in reaching them.

Can you answer these four simple questions about yourself? If so, you have created your personal brand. Now you need to build and nurture it by making your actions consistent with it, and making it a constant part of your behavior.

The common sense point is simple. Successful people create, build and nurture their personal brands. You can create your unique personal brand by answering the following four questions. 1) What do I do? 2) Why is it important? 3) How do I do it? 4) Why does this matter in the long run? These questions may seem simple at first glance, but they can help you summarize what you want to communicate about yourself to the rest of the world – and that’s a great start on creating your personal brand.

That’s my take on personal branding and the four simple questions of What? Why? How? And So what? What’s yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with the rest of us. I really appreciate and value your thoughts and comments. Thanks for reading.

Bud

The Publishing Spot Library: Novelist Christa Faust [ThePublishingSpot]

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:23:39 -0500

Ever wonder who writes all those novels based on movies or television shows?

At the L.A. Times this weekend, Tod Goldberg wrote an ode to the fine art of tie-in writing. Check it out: "My brother had long regaled me with the sales numbers he'd racked up with his "Diagnosis Murder" and "Monk" books -- each selling roughly what all of my books have sold, combined -- and how his tie-ins had dragged along his other books too." (Link via Ron Hogan)

The Publishing Spot has been on this beat for years. Novelist Christa Faust stopped by awhile back, and taught us How To Find Work Writing Tie-Ins.

Follow these links for more tie-in action. After that, Faust also explained how she Novel-ized Snakes on a Plane

and How To Sell Wild and Crazy Novel

and How Blogging Helps Novelists

and finally, some Hardboiled Links from a Hardboiled Writer.

Social Media Analysis Presentations from Search Engine Strategies San Jose [Webmetricsguru]

Marshall — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:51:03 -0500

Here’s the four presentations from the Search Engine Strategies session I moderated and presented at on Social Media Analysis and Tracking last Wednesday, August 20th, 2008, in San Jose.

Track: Social Media
Social Media Analysis and Tracking
Social Search can be used to drive traffic, conversions, and increase ROI by monitoring conversations happening in cyberspace, often in real time. By using buzz monitoring tools such as Buzzlogic, search professions can be very effective in finding influencer’s within online conversations and reaching out to them. As one example of a few that will be presented, learn how Military.com leverages social media and buzz monitoring tools, together with a solid understanding of business goals, to increase profitability.

Moderator:

Marshall Sponder, Senior Web Analyst, Monster.com

Speakers:

Breanna Wigle, CRM Manager, Military Advantage

Edmund Wong, Vice President, Strategy, iCrossing

Todd Parsons, Co-founder & CPO, BuzzLogic.com

Rob Key, CEO, Converseon

sessanjose08_social-media-analysis_msponder I felt that I had not really presented my ideas the previous day at the Audience 2.0 Measurement Panel with Avinash Kaushik, Jim Sterne and Matt Bailey - I was the only speaker without a presentation. Felt bad about it but decided, better live and learn and put much of what I would have said, in this presentation, along with a binding to the rest of what was presented below (in the other 3 presentations).

In fact, I had “touched” the Military/Buzzlogic study, having also done analytics work for Military to find out how much Social Media traffic converted, and supplied the 6% improvement over non-social media referrers that was cited in the study.

In a real way, the Social Media Analysis and Tracking session was my idea, and I pitched it to Kevin Ryan and he took me up on it - I felt I had to deliver, and I did.

sessanjose08_social-media-analysis_tparsons When I brought Military.com and Buzzlogic together I wasn’t really sure what the outcome would be - wisely, Breanna Wigle, living in the Bay Area, was able to meet directly with Buzzlogic, and to her credit, come up with a 5K insertion order to test the concept of Social Media here. I feel we broke new ground - really new ground - and I give Breanna Wigle a lot of credit for being able to even get Military.com to take a chance.

In this role, I saw myself as a connector - I brought the circumstances about, and they moved in their own direction - but I kept my hand in it - meaning, I touched this study, even if I was not directly involved in it’s actual creation.

sessanjose08_social-media-analysis _rkey -I’ve worked with Converseon for a good 5 years, and spoke at their Social Media Roundtable a few weeks ago in their Manhattan offices, along with K.D. Paine and Mike Moran. Rob Key and the Converseon team are the one of the leaders in Social Media - the people you go to when you want to find out how to do it - the people who deliver results - from ground up - they know Social Media; Converseon probably has one of the best teams for Social Media in the World (and their new offices are pretty Ritzy, if I do say so, myself).

If I could wish for one more thing - it would be for some of my paintings to hang in Converseon’s offices - as I think they’d look great in that setting.

sessanjose08_social-media-analysis_ewong -The iCrossing case study was actually pretty darn good, and well researched and supported. Also, Edward pointed out, and I noted, that he had to do a lot of url mapping to Social Media, just as I had, for some of my projects.

All of this brought home that it’s possible to do Social Media Analysis and Tracking with some degree of percision, even now, but in most cases, you’ll need a variety of tools and the ability to mash up the data.

Enjoy the presentations and I’d love to hear feedback from any of my readers on any of the presentations or ideas presented herein.

How to Change the Way We Think About Customer Service [CustomersAreAlways]

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:05:42 -0500

I’ve had some time away from this blog to let my mind relax and contemplate the state of customer service. Much of what I’ve been thinking about has been in alignment with a book that I’ve been reading titled How You Do... What You Do: Create Service Excellence That Wins Clients For Life by Bob Livingston. I’ve been having quite a few “Ah-ha!” moments and I’m excited to share with you some of these thoughts…

I’m only at the beginning of the book and feeling very inspired by what Livingston says. Here’s a little tidbit from Chapter 1 that resonated with me:

"It is not that people don’t care about relationships and don’t consider Service Excellence their job. Nor is it that they are unwilling to make sacrifices, put other people first, or go out of their way to ensure flawless execution of the service chain. It is simply that they do not appreciate the significance that their interactions may have on the person or client they are serving."

Which brings me to the title of this post…

I really want people to start looking at customer service from a different perspective - to view service as starting from within - an “inside-out” perspective, if you will. And the first step is to…

Virtual Worlds succeeding as a prototyping tool [Webmetricsguru]

Marshall — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:00:06 -0500

I’m going to be attending Virtual Worlds Hollywood next week (any readers who are going to be there, as well, contact me and we can meet) to assist Code4Software (speaking at the Technology Track), which is a sponsor for the show.

Virtual World Advertising: Lessons Learned
Marketing and advertising inside of virtual worlds can represent a challenge on many levels. Drawing upon over two years of practical in-world advertising experience, Jared Freedman of Code4Software will present hard statistics showing the results of advertising inside of one of the most popular Virtual Worlds, Second Life TM and some important lessons for those seeking to monetize their virtual world venues. Code4Software created the system that currently runs the largest centrally controlled advertising network in Second Life that logs over fifteen million impression minutes per month.
- Jared Freedman, President, Code4Software LLC

And that reminds me, BusinessWeek has a story on Second Life this week - Business, and Startups, in Second Life, which says that virtual worlds are succeeding as a prototyping tool for business projects:

“… The crucial advantage to working in virtual worlds is that they offer much more potential for customers to interact with new products, even ones that don’t exist yet, says Brian Mennecke, associate professor in information management systems at Iowa State University. The cost of entry is low, too. “It’s open to everyone from day one,” says Paul Jackson, principal analyst with technology researcher Forrester Research (FORR). In a report that was co-authored by Jackson and released earlier this year, Jackson points out that, even with collaboration software, sharing 3D or CAD models “has proven tricky, especially when much of the required data lives in proprietary design systems.” Working in virtual worlds helps solve that problem.

Curet is a fan of Second Life because it saved him time and money and made it easier to meet with his engineer in China. But other businesses are using Second Life to offer services not readily available in the real world or to build products they couldn’t otherwise afford to prototype. And some entrepreneurs are using Second Life to test ideas—such as a mass transit system with individual pods for riders—that aren’t feasible to prototype any other way.”

I did a lot of work with Metrics while I was working at IBM and on the Virtual Business Center - and while I don’t spend a lot of time in Virtual Worlds right now - I do see that has an application of Social Media and worth studying.

In fact, the Web Analytics Association is in the process of drafting a standard for Virtual Reality - metrics wise (what we can measure and how we can measaure it) and it will be released, in draft form, later this year.

US Open Tennis and Self Confidence [CareerSuperStar]

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:49:19 -0500

Self confidence is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become self confident, you need to do three things: 1) Be optimistic; 2) Face your fears and take action; and 3) surround yourself with positive people.

The US Tennis Open begins today in at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. All of the big name players -- Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, James Blake, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Murray, David Nalbandian, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina, Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport -- will be there.

Are you a tennis fan, have you been paying attention to Nadal’s rise to Number 1? What do you think? Is he a flash in the pan, or the real deal? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts on Rafael’s amazing year.

This summer, Rafael Nadal has won the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic Gold Medal. He is the favorite going into the tournament. But don’t count out Roger Federer, even though he hasn’t won a Grand slam event this year.

The Federer – Nadal rivalry brings up a point about self confidence. Right now, Nadal has to be supremely confident. Federer’s confidence, on the other hand, has to be a bit shaken. It will be interesting to watch him play over these next two weeks.

In his new book, A Champion’s Mind, Pete Sampras, winner of 14 Tennis Grand Slams, including five US Open championships, talks about the “inner judge” in all of us, and how he had to work to overcome it.

“But the biggest concern for Tim (Gullikson, his coach) was my attitude on the court. I tended to slump and slouch, especially when things weren’t going my way. Anyone can play tennis when he’s firing on all cylinders. The challenge is to play well enough to win when you’re not at your best. There’s a sneering inner judge in all of us, and a big part of being successful is tuning him out…Instead of listening to that judge when he says you’re lousy, or should pack it in because you’re tired and there’s always next week – that’s when you need to suck it up and act like a man – hang on, fight on, show the pride of a champion.”

I’ve never played any sport at a very high level, so I am going out on a limb suggesting that Roger Federer’s inner judge is really sneering as this year’s US Open begins. However I do know enough about career and life success to think that Roger Federer needs to take Pete’s words to heart. Even though, I like Nadal, Blake, Roddick and Murray, I am a Federer fan. I’m hoping that he’ll be able to gather his confidence and win this tournament.

Last week, I had a conversation with Lorraine Cohen, of Powerfull Living. Lorraine and I were discussing a new program she is offering called “I say YES.” You can learn more about it by going to www.powerfull-living.biz/group.shtml. In the “I say YES” program Lorraine will teach you how to tune out your “sneering inner judge” and to “hang on, fight on and show the pride of a champion.” Or, as John McEnroe, a pretty good tennis player in his own right, told Pete Sampras in 1992, how to “get rid of that negative attitude.”

The common sense point here is simple. In tennis and in life, we all face self doubt that is driven by what Pete Sampras calls our “inner judge.” Successful people are able to tune out their inner judge and perform at a high level. They heed John McEnroe’s advice and get rid of the negative attitude that their inner judge lays on them. As The Optimist Creed says they “think only of the best, work only for the best and expect only the best.” They say YES to realizing their potential.

That’s my take on this year’s US Open, and self confidence. What’s yours? Please leave a comment – and a prediction. I will give a free eBook version of Straight Talk for Success to anyone who predicts the winner of this year’s US Open. If you want to qualify for this contest, I need to have your predictions no later than Wednesday, August 27. Thanks for reading – and playing.

Bud

PS – If you want a copy of The Optimist Creed send me an email at Bud@BudBilanich.com with the words “Optimist Creed” in the subject line.

September 8th Excellence in New Communications Awards submission deadline [BizMediaScience]

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0500

The final submission deadline for the 2008 Excellence in New Communications Awards. is coming up soon! Submit your entries now - the final deadline is Monday, September 8th.

Each year the Society for New Communications Research presents the prestigious SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards. These awards honor corporations, governmental and nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, media outlets, and individuals who are innovating the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, online communities and virtual worlds and collaborative technologies in the areas of business, media, and professional communications, including advertising, marketing, public relations and corporate communications, as well as entertainment, education, politics, and social initiatives.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

Full details about the divisions and categories follow. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at +1 650-331-0083 or info(at)sncr.org.

Awards are granted in six divisions:

Corporate
Government
Media
Nonprofit/NGO
Academic
Technology Innovation (for New Communications and Social Media Technology Vendors)

We have seven (7) categories this year.

1. Online Reputation Management

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is monitoring conversations and content online related to its brand, product or service. The case study should also explain what the organization is doing to either encourage or counter this information online.

An example: An organization that found consumer criticism of its service online, and what it did to discover, strategize and respond to that criticism. An explanation of the outcome of the response would also aid the nomination.

2. Behind the Firewall

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is using new communication and/or social media tools internally to enhance employee communications

An example: An organization that uses a blog internally to communicate with employees, or has built an internal online community for its employees.

3. Blogger Relations

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is proactively engaging and building relationships with bloggers as part of an initiative, campaign, or ongoing program.

An example: An organization that successfully worked with its industry bloggers around a milestone or an announcement.

4. External Communications & Communities

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is communicating with and/or participating in external online communities. This includes both online communities built and managed by the organization as well as other communities and social networks.

An example: An organization that has official spokespeople participating in an industry forum or message board. The external community could also be associated with a social network, like Facebook or MySpace.

5. New Media Creation

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is creating and using social media and new communications tools and technologies, with an emphasis on audio, video and imagery.

An example: An organization that created a podcast series or a video blog. An explanation of why a particular medium was chosen and how it aided with a communication or marketing strategy would be helpful.

6. Collaboration & Co-creation

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is using new media tools to either help groups and teams communicate and collaborate in new ways, or is using new media as the means for enabling outside sources to provide input and ideas in a collaborative way.

An example: An organization that's using a wiki to communicate and exchange ideas. Another example nomination could be an organization that's enabling consumer to submit their ideas and inputs on products and services.

7. Mobile Media

A case study submission in this category should explain how an organization is using mobile media in its communication or marketing projects.

An example: An organization creating mobile applications or using SMS as part of a campaign or initiative.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

ENTRY FEES

FREE for SNCR members.(This is a great time to join SNCR if you're not already a member. Join SNCR now to enter for FREE and to save $100. on your attendance at the 3rd Annual SNCR Symposium & Awards Gala. For more information about membership levels, rates and benefits, visit http://sncr.org/get-involved.

Non-member award entry fees: $70.USD per entry

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

And join us at the ...

3rd Annual Society for New Communications Research Symposium & Awards Gala

Friday, November 14th, Hotel Marlowe, Cambridge, Mass.

Join us for a full day of presentations by the SNCR Fellows on their latest research projects and to celebrate the winners of the 2008 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards!

The Society for New Communications Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation -- 30% of all contributions to all SNCR programs are tax deductible. Visit http://sncr.org/get-involved/ to join the SNCR or to make a fully tax deductible donation.

"a terrifying interdimensional being shaped like a huge, grotesque version of a ..." [ThePublishingSpot]

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:23:22 -0500

Can you finish that tagline? Why not let a computer do it for you?

The excellent Script Reader blogger this essay about the awful glut of science fiction scripts they read on a regular basis. Inspired by the mediocrity, one reader created an Aliens or Predator computerized science fiction script pitch letter generator. Read it and weep:

"the entity shows itself to be a terrifying alien shaped like a huge, grotesque version of a vagina with a acid-filled mouth."

If you are inspired by those laughable taglines, you simply must enter the Worst Storyline Ever contest at brilliant Guide to Literary Agents blog. You only have a few more days to enter, but how can you not write something beautifully bad like this:

"After the death of his goldfish, a priest renounces his faith and gets a job at the local White Castle, where he becomes addicted to special sauce and tries to dance his way to getting respect on the streets."

Most importantly, laugh at all these lines, but use these clichés and jokes and baaad writing examples to purge the nonsense out of your own agent pitches. To that end, read Chris Webb's book proposal advice. Happy reading...

When Brainpower Goes Green [BrainBasedBusiness]

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:10:52 -0500

With the new surge in conservation of resources at the best business sites, I’d like to see mental power go green too. Recycled brainpower can keep business alive far longer than most firms realize. How so?

Conserve these brain related riches and watch your company grow:

1. Curiosity is conserved by simply asking and wondering… “What if?”

2. Perspective is preserved through engaging more imagery into solutions.

3. Fitness is harnessed for mental energy through certain foods and exercise.

4. Opportunity is sustained by engaging working memory more.

5. Resources are prolonged through drawing on multiple intelligences.

What mental conservation takes place where you work?