An organization can identify social networks that it could participate in with pools of community members, like Twitter, Pownce, Facebook or MySpace. Social networks allow an organization to aggregate contacts in groups of self-identified and voluntarily interested parties. In essence, the community members opt in to the organization’s network as a friend or follower (or whatever the network’s preferred nomenclature is).

Opt-ins don’t give a company a license to engage in shameless promotions. It’s important to note that they expect an organization to behave according to the principles of social media conversation (openness, transparency, etc.)… As a contributing member of the community.

Within these networks, Internet “friends” are interested in content and developments generated by members within their network. This is true and even expected of companies and entrepreneurs. Friends may be interested in a book, a blog or an application you are developing. But whatever the initiative may be, organizations should strategically try to share efforts that contribute to the community in some way.

En masse, that means a company or organization can update large subgroups of people about initiatives. For example on Twitter, the Live Earth initiative used its microblog updates to keep almost 2,000 bloggers apprised of the July 7, 2007 concerts. Here are some sample “Tweets:”

“Switching between the live earth stages at liveearth.msn.com. alicia keys dueting with keith urban. beastie boys rockin’ london. 12:40 PM July 07, 2007.”

“Rallying up a road crew. Carpool to relieve congestion on your daily ride to work. Americans waste 2.3 billions of gas a year in traffic 02:27 PM July 06, 2007”




Inside the Social Network

Intelligent companies use periodic calls to action within their dialogue. For example, many corporate social network members reference a blog post, list a wiki on their identity profile, or collaborate with the community on a social media initiative. By bringing community members closer to the organization’s primary social media initiative larger constituencies are built.

Other networks, such as the very popular Facebook, allow organizations to build private groups for contacts to discuss issues in. Facebook has designed an open application programming interface so that companies can create applications and introduce them into the social network.

If successful in creating value for community members, these applications can create a tremendous groundswell of interest in an organization. At the same time, some applications fail because they don’t offer value to the community.

“It’s not just about the ability to connect with people,” said Brian Solis on a post relating to Facebook. “It’s about creating, cultivating, and promoting a strategic online presence and personal brand. Remember, participation is marketing.”

Companies and organizations should look at social networks as a way to engage potential community members outside of the confines of a corporate URL. By participating intelligently and building value, a company can create a great conversation with its constituents as well as future customers. Further, they can encourage them to take actions and engage them within the confines of the company’s own social media initiative.

As Kami Huyse says, it’s important to define performance measurements. That’s not how many friends or followers, but what kind of perception does an organization have, and was it changed. Has this increased the amount of leads received on a website, or more sign-ups for corporate email initiatives? Define performance goals before engaging in a social network initiative.

Measuring Success: The Impact of Social Media and Viral Video (Communication Overtones) - Entry discusses measuring outcomes versus output in a social media campaign.

Pro PR discusses ethical social media marketing — White Hat verus Black Hat — or a focus on short term marketing sales versus community building.

Beware of Facebook Frenzy, a discussion of some  possible marketing pitfalls within Facebook that companies should consider (Buzz Bin).

Every week, Copywrite Inc.’s Rich Becker and I discuss a blogging best practice on BlogStraightTalk, a Bumpzee community. This we week we discussed flogging, or fake blogging.

When Wal-Mart did one; they were chastised. When Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes magazine, did one; he was praised as a humorous hero. Enter Ray Hopewood (blog.rayhopewood.com/), a president hopeful who claims to have made Paris Hilton’s ankle bracelet software and wants Americans to live well, at least as well as he does.

Even if you don’t buy his blog, Hopewood is doing better than most bloggers (and some presidential hopefuls) by capturing a positive news story in The New York Times. Just a few months ago, all he had was a mocumentary moment on the Late Show With David Letterman. Given The New York Times story, that alone makes the Ray Hopewood concept better than bust.

But is flogging a good idea? Here are our takeaways…

Rich Becker

• As a flog, had it been kept up to date, it would work in that the best flogs and characters are up front in their affiliations and agendas. It is positioned in such a manner, and nobody needs to get hurt while making fun of a process that is often stranger than fiction.
• But… it falls short in that the campaign seems to end as a set up instead of an ongoing promotional activity.
• In this case, the bog fix could have been easy enough to execute by making the links to the company much more direct (making Hopewood the obvious spokesperson for the company too) and regular updates throughout the life of the campaign, even if we never see another mockumentary.

Geoff Livingston

• Here’s the deal with Flogs. They’re funny, they’re cute, but they can be extraordinarily dangerous for businesses who engage in them behind a closed façade.
• Companies must disclose that they are executing a fake blog. Just saying that you are receiving editorial support services on a blog, or are openly poking fun at someone can save an organization a later PR fiasco.
• And when it’s an open façade like this, it must have some sort of tangential tie back to the company’s value proposition.

BlogStraightTalk publishes every Monday. Join us.

More reading on flogs, etc.:

Attack of the Fake Bloggers (TechCrunch)
Do People Really Want Transparency and Authenticity (Copyblogger)
Ten Reasons Why Ghost Blogs Suck (Vaspers, the Grate)
Fake Caveman Brings Club, Tells All (Buzz Bin)

You met Ike today. Also periodically contributing to the Now Is Gone blog are Toby Bloomberg and Kami Watson Huyse, two of the most powerful marketing bloggers out there.

Both Toby and Kami were invaluable resources to the book. Toby was oft cited throughout the book, and her Baby Chums interview was cited as an example of social media success. Kami was particularly helpful in the final chapter, the future of social media. She also had a case study featured in the book, as well her perennial post, “The Seven Types of Social Media,” which was used as in the preface.

The Now Is Gone blog seeks to help businesses embrace New Media (and Social Media) intelligently. Together, all of us are providing relevant blog entries, discussing new updates since the book Now Is Gone was drafted, highlighting important trends, and linking to corporate social media initiatives. Again, the goal is to help executives and entrepreneurs figure out new media.

Here’s a closer look at Toby and Kami’s stellar social media careers to date:

Toby Bloomberg, Blog Contributor

Toby Bloomberg, president of Atlanta-based Bloomberg Marketing , has a passion for helping organizations understand and put participation marketing conversations into action. Companies she has served include: 3M, Interface Flooring, Alliance Theatre, GourmetStation, Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, WaterhousePR/Mayfield Dairy, M/A/R/C Research, J.T. Heinz. In addition to working with the business community, Toby is an adjunct professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School where she teaches an innovative course on management consulting. Toby writes the Diva Marketing Blog and Blogger Stories. Diva Marketing is in the top 25 of Ad Age’s Power 150 and is the #2 woman written blog on the Power 150 list.

Kami Watson Huyse, Blog Contributor

Kami Watson Huyse, APR, principal of My PR Pro, is a public relations consultant based in San Antonio, Texas. She is an Ad Age Power 150 blogger and writes about public relations and communications at Communication Overtones. She has an extensive background in crisis communication and reputation management, executing social media campaigns, focus group research and media relations. Kami has garnered coverage for her clients in media outlets such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the CBS Early Show and the San Antonio Express News. One of her campaigns was featured in “Now is Gone,” and she is a contributor to the Now is Gone, MARCOM and PRSA Byline blogs.

The following bloggers had either blog posts cited in and/or were interviewed for Now Is Gone. These sources are listed permanently on the Now Is Gone blog to honor them and provide business readers additional source material.

If you have questions about marketing the book, or the use of bloggers as sources, I refer you to the previous post, “Marketing Now Is Gone.” To the bloggers, thank you for creating great content in the new media world. The book’s sources are:

• Teli Adlam, The OptiNiche Blog
• Adam Aleman, FlashReport
• Todd Andrlik, Todd And: The Power to Connect
• Scott Baradell, Media Orchard
• Cam Beck, ChaosScenario
• Richard Becker, Copywrite
• Jordan Behan, Tell Ten Friends
• Toby Bloomberg, Diva Marketing Blog
• Bob, Bob Meets World
• Kristina Bouweiri, Make It Better
• Chris Brogan, ChrisBrogan.com
• C.C Chapman, Reality Bitchslap
• Ed Cotton, Influx
• Todd Defren, PR Squared
• Chris Dorobek, The FCW Insider
• Alicia Dorset, GM FastLane
• Kevin Dugan and Richard Laermer, The Bad Pitch Blog
• Eric Eggertson, Common Sense PR
• Li Evans, Search Marketing Gurus
• Kyle Flaherty, Engage in PR
• Susan Getgood, Marketing Roadmaps
• Heather Green, Blogspotting
• Lewis Green, Bizsolutionsplus
• Karl Greenberg, MediaPost Publications
• Chris Heuer, The Future of Communities
• Sally Seville Hodge, Marketing Profs
• Shel Holtz, A Shel of my Former Self
• John Horrigan, Pew/Internet
• Kami Watson Huyse, Communications Overtones
• Shel Isreal, Global Neighborhoods
• Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog
• Rob La Gesse, Stuffleufagus
• Tim Leberecht, iPlot
• Charlene Li, The Groundswell
• Joe Lichtenberg, Marketing Profs
• Brian Lusk, Nuts About Southwest
• Valeria Maltoni, Conversation Agent
• Richard McManus, Read/Write Web
• Jake Matthews, 10e20
• Brian Oberkirch, Like It Matters
• Lee Odden, Online Marketing Blog
• Janice Partyka, GPS World
• Jeremy Pepper, Pop! PR Jots
• Ike Pigott, Occam’s Razr
• Chris Polito, Total Telecom
• Jeff Pulver, The Jeff Pulver Blog
• Aaron Reed, SYS-CON Media
• Laura Ries, Origin of Brands
• Kim Roach, Lifehack.org
• Frank Rose, Epicenter
• Jay Rosen, Press Think
• Hanni Ross, Successful Blog
• Darren Rowse, ProBlogger
• Steve Rubel, Micropersuasion
• Mike Sansome, ConverStations
• David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now
• Doc Searl, Linux Journal
• Brian Solis, PR 2.0
• Steve Spalding, How To Split An Atom
• Michael A. Stelzner, Marketing Profs
• Amy Stodgehill, Green Options
• Mario Sundar, Marketing Nirvana
• Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams, Wikinomics: The Blog
• Robb Tokatakiya, Tokatakiya
• Joe Wilkert, Publishing Blog 2020

Perhaps the most famous quote in the modern era of presidential debates is:

“There you go again.”

- Ronald Reagan, to Walter Mondale

The most famous quote in the history of vice-presidential debates?

“Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy”

- Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, to Sen. Dan Quayle

Ah - but the most relevant quote in the history of VP yawn-fests is:

“Who am I? Why am I here?”

- Adm. James Stockdale

I find myself relating a lot to the Admiral about now, because my “contributing blogger” status at Now is Gone is a bit of a stumper. I didn’t write the book. I just answered a few of Geoff’s questions about a project. I’m also not one of those PR 2.0 stalwarts like Brian Solis. I mean, c’mon - his blog is even named PR 2.0! So… Who am I, and Why am I here?

Six months ago, I wasn’t a blip on Livingston’s radar, not enough of a bug to splatter his windshield as he zoomed by. I provided no buzz for the bin. Then he contacted me about using some of my communications work with the Red Cross as a case study in the implementation of new media platforms. That’s what he called it, anyway. I called it ‘problem solving on the cheap.’

Forgive me for over-reaching on the self-deprecation, but I really am a Nobody. But as we discovered over dinner (Geoff picks up a generous tab), I am a Nobody with some different ideas about the future of all these techno-societal innovations. I’m not schooled in PR - took my first job three-and-a-half years ago, and desperately set out to learn as much as I could about PR from the internet. I didn’t know that I was really learning more about ‘online PR’, or whatever it is we call these things these days. I also didn’t know that I was happily splashing around in a muddy, poorly-defined patch of land that sits at the crossroads of several traditional disciplines.

I’ve been told that my blog, Occam’s RazR, is not a PR blog. (No hard feelings.) I know it is not a Marketing blog, nor a MarCom, and definitely not an Advertising blog. I’m glad it is not - because I don’t think I could handle being rejected for the Ad Age Power 150 on so many simultaneous levels.

No - I am the owner of a Communications blog. I talk about pretty much whatever I want, coming from this mindset: stuffing complex truths in simple packages. Sometimes it is just a brief original statement - sometimes a reflection on the power of analogy - sometimes just a parody. But it is communications, and it is the piece of real estate where everyone is headed. The PR people, the Ad people, and the Marketing gurus are all going toward the same point. Not merging, mind you, because they all have different ways of measuring objectives and success. But the lines are blurring, because they are increasingly using the same tools. Ad people put their spots on YouTube hoping to spur sales, while the PR people do the same thing to pump goodwill or tell a story. Marketing people engage social networks to build brand awareness, while PR people do it to build brand relationships.

It’s fun to play in the mud - but I fear it won’t be fun for long if the different disciplines start getting territorial. Now is Gone - and the Lines are now Gone too. At least they are blurry, and they aren’t coming back. The sooner we identify ourselves as “communicators” first and by our objectives second, the better off we’ll be.

Who am I? I’m Ike Pigott, communicator.

Why am I here? Because I’m just as lost as you are. Now is Gone, and we’d better get on the stick because the first one to Tomorrow gets to make the rules.

One of the least talked about technologies that can impact social media is the Wii. Or more importantly the Wii’s input system — the Wiimote — a game controller that uses motion control to communicate wirelessly with the game machine. Gesture recognition technologies like this hold great potential for social media networks and virtual worlds.

Consider Second Life’s incredible clunky motion, hard to input control’s, stiff movement and otherwise bizarre interaction with other Second Lifers. Now add in real motion, motion that allows you to move in the virtual world just as you are now. That would take social media to an unprecedented level. Wii + Second Life equals real simulation.

Companies like Linden Labs (creator of Second Life) and Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft) are already working on mobile input systems to meld real worlds and their virtual realities. These gadgets are meant to enable us to, “live more fully through our avatars.”

It may seem like a dream, but is it really? This has already been done in the imagination of Andy Serkis in Peter Jackson’s sci fi masterpieces The Two Towers and the Return of the King. To film the avatar Gollum, Serkis put on a body suit with motion sensors so a computer could register his physical actions, muscle by muscle.

Now Jackson had incredible computing power and the current decade’s finest special effects wizardry at his disposal when he shot the Lord of the Rings. Yet is it so far away? Dynamic bandwidth increases have been promised and Moore’s law continues to drive incredible growth in computer processing speed. Add in open APIs so developers can create dynamic applications, throw in some motion technology a la the Wiimote or similar technologies, and drop the results into an already budding virtual world.

Hmm. Sounds pretty wild and fun to me.

Obviously this is a lot more complex than these simple paint strokes. But it isn’t so hard to believe. Motion in social media equals much more meaningful experiences for everyone. Social media will take on new levels of interaction and reality. Imagine test driving that car, simulating actual classroom environments, or just having a better game experience. It’s exciting.

Chrysler has a new blog coming, and this interview reveals some strategic insights (Diva Marketing Blog).

B2B expenditures on social media are likely to exceed B2C social media initiatives (Conversation Agent).

The America Red Cross is using Twitter to communicate with constituencies (Twittown).

Now Is Gone reminds us that the future of communications introduces sociology into the marketing strategy.Technology is just that, technology. The tools will change. The networks will evolve. Mediums for distributing content will grow.

The future of marketing integrates traditional and social tools, connected by successful, ongoing relationships with media, influencers, and people.

The conversations that drive and define Social Media require a genuine approach. Just because you have the latest tools to reach people doesn’t mean you can throw the same old marketing at them.

Today, conversations are markets and markets are conversations.

The difference is that by listening, reading, and participating, corporate marketing will be smarter and more approachable than ever before. This is how we humanize brands, create loyalty, and earn customer’s business.

At this point, we’re looking at late October. Page proofs are in process, and from there we need to expedite back jacket reviews.  Onward and forward. “Review copies” will be available three weeks prior to the official date.  More to be determined.