Let’s discuss: An article from Techcrunch  Saving the World or Another FB App?

EMG 30 sec rundown: During the UC Berkeley Hackathon 128 students “hacked” for 24 hours straight, building some of the coolest websites, games, Twitter stream analyzers, and Facebook apps. One of the categories teams were judged on was “social good.” Does this technology or software contribute to the social well being of our planet? According to writer Vivek Wadhwa there was only one team worthy of receiving the prize. The team built a system for villagers in developing countries that enables them to send SMSs to volunteers who can provide emergency medical advice. Most judges didn’t understand that developing countries do not have a medical emergency system like 911. The team that did win for “social good” developed a polling technology for Universities. Judges felt helping universities was “social good.” This raises the question, can we build a social media app that betters our planet and makes a healthy profit?

EMG takeaway: EMG is a leader in the world of social media and interactive marketing. Companies look to our expertise in these verticals. We saw a new form of marketing and it was up to us to show others how to use it. As early adopters and experts I feel nobody is better suited to show people how social media can better our planet.

Social media is constantly evolving and new ideas are created every minute; however these ideas are usually for personal gain and/or self promotion. It is a challenge to be selfless and an even bigger challenge to be selfless while making a profit. Creating ideas for the “social good” can be as simple as creating a Facebook fan page for trash pickup at the beach. The great thing about ideas to better our planet is that even on a small scale they can do big things.

 Final Words:  Social media has definitely become a part of our lives and changed the way we live. Using it to better our planet and improve the way others live is a great challenge.

3 Questions to Continue the Discussion: Do you have a favorite charity/cause/group? Can you think of a social impact app or technology for them?

Many companies create a product which people want, improve lives and solves problems, is this considered social betterment?

Is it even possible to develop an app that not only contributes to the “social good” of the world, but is also profitable?

Let’s Discuss:
There are many online social networking sites out there and there are many avid subscribers and users of these networks. As popularity increases, so does the number of new social networking sites. Will these survive on Eyeballs alone?

EMG 30-Second Rundown:
In the television heyday there were 3 major networks which split to four with Fox’s move into the market in 1986. Less competition = more eyeballs. More eyeballs = bigger ad spends. The 4 major networks had an airwave monopoly controlling a popular medium that allowed advertisers to reach into living rooms. In the late ’90s through today, cable and satellite television providers have been adding more channels and splitting those audiences between an ever growing list of channels. More competition=fewer eyeballs. Fewer eyeballs=less revenue per network because advertisers have to split their spends across multiple networks to reach the same number of people. Are we currently witnessing a similar event in the online market space?

Google recently released Google Buzz as a social media platform to cut into twitter’s market share, and all before twitter has released a revenue generation model. Smart business move or is Google diluting their product offerings? We know how Google has monetized their search model. They have a whole slew of services around serving up ads on specific key word searches. Twitter on the other hand does not have a proven revenue model, so how will they endure?

EMG Takeaway:
What are the ways that twitter can make money based around their platform?

1. In page ad serve. Ok, one of the easiest to come up with off the top of my head is serving ads on twitter pages or inter tweet ads. Simple, easy, but questionable in effectiveness. They could serve relevant ads based around tweets, but would you click on inter tweet ads or learn to tune them out after you get used to the format? I would liken these to display ad traffic. Not necessarily the highest converting traffic or the best bang for your buck, but with large volume users, they could probably generate revenue from this model.
2. http://search.twitter.com - Follow a Google model and serve up ads based on search terms on their search feature. This is starting to look a little more promising, but still lacks the wide spread value that Google has. This is because twitter searches tweets and there aren’t as many people searching for products through a twitter search. This approach lacks that critical tie in like the pay per click campaigns have on a Google search where people are actually looking for general products and services.
3. http://apiwiki.twitter.com/Twitter-API-Documentation - Twitter has an api that developers can tap into and pull feeds, but more importantly, set up interfaces to search twitter which makes it one of the biggest and arguably the most powerful social barometers around. It could be an invaluable tool for businesses and marketing agencies to interface with this api to research what the general population is tweeting about. This information becomes more and more valuable as the number of Tweeters goes up.

I have searched around and found many proposed revenue models for twitter and similar social networking sites. There is no way for us to tell exactly how they are going to make money until they actually do, but in the meantime we can use them for entertainment, staying connected, meeting new people and those of us in Marketing can use them as valuable tools in our day to day.

Final words:
The next time you are tweeting or reading someone else’s tweets, jump over to http://search.twitter.com and type in the first thing that comes to mind. Now start searching for terms relating to your business, your clients, your industry. At the very least it is extremely entertaining, but quite possibly a very powerful tool to help you shape your business and product offerings.

Questions for Discussion:

• Have twitter, and now Google, figured out a secret way to capitalize on people boasting their current state of mind and they are just waiting to unleash it on as at a later time, or are we going through dot com boom v2.0?
• Will Google’s Buzz cut into twitter’s market share, pulling people away from twitter and diluting the results of their “societal/cultural barometer”?
• What do you think will happen to the online social networking space as more and more ventures release social networking sites? Will people expand the networks they use, will the strong survive and the rest fail or will interest in social networks dwindle as people become over socialized?
• Will these social networks lose the critical mass that they needed to sell products or assemble the collective conscience that is needed to shape a marketing campaign?

…Only time will tell.

Let’s Discuss:
MicroHoo, YahSoft… whichever way you mash it up; it’s official! The Microsoft/ Yahoo deal proposed last summer has finally received clearance from U.S. and E.U. regulators.

EMG 30-Second Rundown:
What does this mean aside from some serious fist pumping from Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer?

We’re entering a new era of search with an alliance that aims to challenge Google’s market dominance. Yahoo and Microsoft shadow Google with recent comScore reports ranking Google’s share of searches at 65.7%, followed by Yahoo and Microsoft at 17.3% and 10.7% respectively.

Combining search from Yahoo and Microsoft will expand the collective data pool from which Microsoft can further develop, test and tweak platforms, search-related features and algorithms. The enhanced performance will boost both companies’ ability to compete against Google by improving search results, as well as amplifying appeal to search advertisers.

Taking over Yahoo’s search functionality will grant Microsoft access to nearly three times the search queries it’s receiving independently. The increased search volume will enable accelerated algorithmic innovation resulting in more relevant results for a larger pool of search queries.

Delegating search duties to Microsoft frees up Yahoo to focus investment on areas in which they excel including building their portfolio of destination web properties and display advertising capabilities.

So what will this new alliance look like? In a nutshell, Microsoft (Bing) will power Yahoo’s organic and paid search platforms while Yahoo will handle premium search advertising sales for the combined unit.

Celebrations for overcoming this regulatory milestone will be short-lived as the companies’ goal will is to have U.S. implementation completed by the end of 2010. Further details can be found on the official Search Alliance site.

EMG Takeaway:
Attention advertisers, marketers, shareholders and general search enthusiasts (i.e. everyone)… prepare yourselves because the real battle for search market dominance is about to begin!

We’re going to see more performance improvements, more product innovation and better integration from all players as Google’s monopolistic advantages wane under increased competitive pressure.

Google may be forced to up the ante on traditional media buys (e.g. “Search Stories” Super Bowl spot) to defend against Bing’s mass media quest for search mind share as the “Decision Engine.”

Ultimately, this deal is going to mean different things to different groups of people. However, we will all benefit from stronger competition in the search marketplace as it forces companies to work harder for our loyalty.

Final Words:
There will be big changes in the search market landscape with the Microsoft/ Yahoo search alliance rapidly coming to fruition. Maintaining and acquiring search share will demand that key players (and challengers) diversify product offerings without diluting the meaning behind their brand promise.

While search is as much a societal mainstay as the internet, the business of search is still very much in its infancy. Whether the search engine on top will be Google, MicroHoo or a new challenger, one thing is certain; the biggest winner will be the engine able to monetize search services beyond “10 Blue Links” and banner inundation in a manner that benefits searchers, advertisers and publishers.

Three Questions to Continue the Discussion:
1.)    How is this going to affect SEM campaign management?
2.)    What efforts will Google take to maintain search dominance?
3.)    Preferred mashup; MicroHoo or YahSoft?

Inspired by Mashable’s Onion Ring More Popular Than Justin Bieber in Latest Facebook Meme

Let’s Discuss: Wildly popular “other” Facebook fan pages that are neither Artist, Band, Public Figure, Brand, Product, Organization, or Local Entity (the categories Facebook expects all fan pages to ascribe to), and the motivating forces behind their creation and popularity with those who fan them.

EMG 30-Second Rundown
Some examples of these “other” Facebook fan pages are: Ra Ra Ra Ah Ah Ah, Roma Ro Ma Ma, Gaga Ooh La La (915,233 fans and counting), Snow Cones (528,184 fans and counting), and Can this Onion Ring get more fans than Stephen Harper? (145,166 fans and counting, good thing fried food can’t be elected Canadian Prime Minister).

For context, Honda, which ended its recent Super Bowl commercial with a reference to Facebook.com/Honda, has 299,262 Facebook fans. And in case you’re wondering, “Ra Ra Ra Ah Ah Ah, Roma Ro Ma Ma, Gaga Ooh La La” is a lyric from the Lady Gaga song Bad Romance. That’s correct; a lyric from a Lady Gaga song has more fans on Facebook than the 5th largest manufacturer of cars in the world. I digress.

It’s important to note to that according to Facebook terms of service, “Pages are special profiles that may only be used to promote a business or other commercial, political, or charitable organization or endeavor (including non-profit organizations, political campaigns, bands, and celebrities).” Facebook suggests users who want to create other types of fan pages create a Facebook Group instead, but that hasn’t stopped the flood of these non-conformist Facebook fan pages.

The EMG Takeaway
Why do people create and join these fan pages?

• To display adoration (“I love snow cones, I’ll make a Facebook fan page!”) or perhaps to find others who share a common passion; after all, the best social endeavors facilitate connections of value. On the Snow Cones fan page, the post “Do you have an awesome snow cone story? Let’s hear it!” elicited 691 comments, including my favorite, “While I was pregnant with my first son, I was very sick the entire 9 months. I even lost 40 lbs. because I couldn’t keep food down. The only thing I could eat was Snowcones! Snowcones saved me. My son, now 21, always tells this story to explain why he loves them too.” Unofficial fan pages become micro-niche communities around a common passion.

• To make others laugh, or to be the author of an internet meme. The virality of the internet is greased with humor (ask the founders of Fail Blog, the creators of Rick Rolling, or the 5 million people who go to Break.com every month). According to the original admin of Ra Ra Ra Ah Ah Ah, Roma Ro Ma Ma, Gaga Ooh La La, “I started the page because it was a joke between me and my friends, we didn’t really like the song and thought the lyrics were really random… I didn’t really expect it to get too many fans but then it randomly got big, very fast.” While I personally wouldn’t laugh if I saw a friend become a fan of this particular page, I might if I noticed a friend fan, “Pretending to Text in Awkward Situations,” (3,149,129 fans and counting).

• To make a statement or join a movement. In an environment where fans = popularity, demonstrating that an onion ring can garner more fans than the Prime Minister of Canada is quite a statement. Judging by fan comments on the page “Can this Onion Ring get more fans than Stephen Harper?” (“Onion rings are far more tasty than Conservative policy” and “Even this bad onion ring is better for my health than Stephen Harper”), the statement made by the page creator clearly resonates. In this case fanning a page is almost like slapping a bumper sticker on your car. Also consider that people gravitate towards movements with goals (let’s get more fans than…), and they join these fan pages for the same reason people “followed” Ashton Kutcher on Twitter to help him beat out CNN in a race to one million followers. We want to be a part of something greater than ourselves.

So what can you learn from these “other” fan pages?

As you build your own “official” fan pages, seek out fans that love what you do or the product you provide. When you do engage with your fans, the responses will be that much more passionate, genuine, and valuable to the connections you are creating. Study the most successful of these fan pages as a lesson in what goes viral. “Pretending to Text in Awkward Situations” sounds like an awesome campaign name Boost Mobile. Finally, give your fan base, audience, customers, etc. something to rally around. Yes, contests and sweepstakes are a great motivator, but uniting people in pursuit of a singular and common goal can be very powerful too.

Final Words: Facebook fan pages are great for brands…and a source of niche-communities, viral humor, and Canadian political movements we can all learn from.

3 Questions to Continue the Discussion

1. Have you joined one of these “other” Facebook fan pages? And if so, why?
2. Can you suggest a better categorization for these pages than “other”?
3. Do these pages constitute spam and dilute the value of “official” Facebook fan pages?

Photo credit: Dhack55 / Flickr

I think it’s important for us to get a clear understanding of the playing field as it relates to digital marketing today in order to prepare for the challenges we most definitely will face tomorrow. My hope is to provide context for the ideas and direction EMG is heading.

I begin with a few questions that I ask myself every day.

What ideas should we lead with? – The one’s with the best or most compelling creative, relevant strategy, newest technology, most popular or that shows the most promising return on investment? Is it all of the above or something much more complex, integrated and visceral?

How do we measure or benchmark success? Monetize social media? Break through barriers? How do we adapt faster and test quicker? Who are we influenced by? Who do we want to influence?

We now know that digital marketing can at times become the single backbone to success or failure – that it is no longer for simply marketing to youth, Millennials and soccer moms.

We have a continuous flood of information and intelligence resources to help us monitor, uncover and identify common campaign curses, unforeseen pitfalls, potential market penetration opportunities, unique engagement challenges, unconventional strategies and user experience best-practices.

Thought Leaders, must now work together to quickly take advantage of the ever changing digital landscape in order to continue to meet and surpass audience expectations; to not become stale; to determine what to embrace and what to ignore.

Digital marketing has now moved well beyond its infancy of simple electronic press kit sites and landing pages, search marketing, widgets, apps, online promotions and mobile contests, display advertising and even alternate reality games.

Think about the ground-breaking campaigns that are showing success with non-competing partnerships; campaigns that are reaching unbeknownst audiences via aggregated and unique content, popularity rankings, social evangelism and innovative creative; that are creating a personalized story and connection with our audiences outside the boundaries of the previous conventional digital campaign.

How much risk do we take, however?

Regardless of the complexity, all of our goals are singular, simple and historical. Identify the audience, both the core and the fringe, find the best way of delivering our content to them, learn from our success and failures, and risk just enough to stand out and be different.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2009/09/disney-autonomatronics-figure-can-sense-if-youre-happy/

As a tech geek, this really intrigues me… and scares me.   We may have the beginnings of Minority Report or Terminator on our hands.

Disney Imagineering is currently working on Otis, an autonomatronic robot that is the next generation of characters you will see in rides (and most likely outside of rides) at the Disney parks.  As Thomas Smith of the Official Disney Parks Blog explains…

Autonomatronics technology is different from Audio-Animatronics technology. Audio-Animatronics technology repeats a pre-programmed show over and over again. Autonomatronics technology is driven by sophisticated cameras and sensors giving Otto the ability to make choices about what to say and do.

This opens up a whole new world (pun intended) of interactive possibilities for Imagineering.   My only hope is that we do not have a repeat of the episode in which The Simpsons visit Itchy and Scratchy Land.

Microsoft’s Business Productivity home page tries to be multiracial…

They could have at least photoshopped the hand too.. Fail.

Original site links:

http://www.microsoft.com/businessproductivity/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/poland/businessproductivity/default.mspx

Left brain verses right, numbers versus pictures. What happens when numerical data exceeds the ability to provide useful information, not because it’s unsolvable, but because the amount of data is expanding so fast that meaning cannot be derived? Sure there is automation to help with the processing, but eventually that data has to be refined to into palatable representations. As marketing becomes more data driven it’s also important to remember it’s marketing’s goal to create emotional reactions.

Think of the Twitter cloud. While an extremely simple example, the Twitter cloud easily displays the biggest topics by increasing the size of the words relative to the number of times a particular word / phrase is mentioned. The data could have easily been presented in numerical results, “245,000 mentions of ice cream,” lifeless. Instead, we “feel” the importance of Ice Cream simply by visualizing its size relative to the other words. We are able to instantly compare the significance of the data based upon feeling, supported by raw numbers. Simple right? What about the fact that data is the fastest growing thing on this planet and its grown rate is actually beginning to exceed the performance abilities of the mediums it’s stored on.

Between the years 2000-2003, two economists at Berkley, Varian and Lyman, estimated that the total production of new information in the year 2000 alone reached 1.5 exabytes. They explain that is about 37,000 times as much information as is in the entire holdings Library of Congress. For one year! Three years later the annual total yielded 3.5 exabytes. That yields a 66% rate of growth in information per year between 2000 and 2003. This is pre-facebook, twitter and MySpace, and look at the amounts of data in those three arenas alone.

Data visualization is crucial to connecting emotional depth with an increased understanding of numbers, especially as we begin to tackle staggering amounts of data. It provides the bridge to communicate the meaning and emotion of the data. It can even bridge the communication gaps that exist between data analysts (left brain) and creative marketing leaders (right brain). The future of marketing relies on both, equally.

Interactive Data Visualization: The following image is a snapshot from Fidg’t, a Java-based desktop application that visualizes a user’s social network using Flickr and LastFM tags. More than just a simple data visualization tool, it allows you to interact with the visual elements and create dynamic relationships from complex data sets and meta-tagging. Simply put, it provides emotional meaning to the data.

Culture is defined as - the art and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Technology is changing the recording and dissemination of collective information. There is no better representation of this than the online Enterprise Content Management System. Because of the collaborative nature of these systems it is much easier to update content and keep your message current and valid; but it is also much easier to have conflicting content and incorrect versions of your content.

As a project manager I orchestrate the implementation of Enterprise Content Management Systems for a living. I have managed builds from the ground up and I have managed implementations of third party solutions. Every system out there is unique and each have strengths and weaknesses but there are certain issues that run across all of them. These issues aren’t necessarily flaws in the application but rather, they have to do with the intricacies of deploying information about an organization on a company-wide scale.

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I have been known (on occasion) to absolutely love web analytics (yes I know how that sounds) and the wealth of information it provides enabling marketers to make smart and timely tactical decisions to guide their marketing strategies. As marketers, we are living in a world where we are getting paid less and less for our great ideas…and rather…getting paid for the performance of our idea. In fact, I read this week in a column in Advertising Age (thanks Bobby for sending it to me) that many large companies are reevaluating the way they are paying their marketing agencies as they are able to get more and more granular with their return on investment (ROI) analysis using web analytics and other online marketing tools. Companies hiring agencies like Earthbound Media Group are demanding some “skin in the game” and asking the agency to include some performance metrics into their pricing model so that their payoff for success is not only for the company, but also the agency. This puts an agency in an interesting position as they must not only come up with creative ideas to market products and services, but also tweak the ideas real-time to enhance the ongoing performance of the campaign in order to meet performance goals. This “new marketer” is a creative and a data cruncher and carries in his or her pocket a sketchpad and a calculator (or rather…just an iPhone!).

Recently I read about a website called www.wheresgeorge.com where a simple database and algorithm track dollar bills and their migration around the US – hence the name “Where’s George.”

This website is being used by market analysts as well as the Center for Disease Control as researchers try to understand purchasing and monetary migration patterns within the US. This granularity in the capabilities of tracking offline materials (a dollar bills) in the online world is something marketers years ago did not have access to. Times have changed…and so to have marketers.

I know as many agencies struggle with this shift in marketing analysis and optimization, Earthbound Media Group has embraced marketing intelligence and how it is shaping our ideas, campaigns, and our clients’ business. Using tools such as web analytics, multivariate testing, and social media listening (to name a few), we are able to better serve our clients and provide ideas that are grounded in research, data, and results.