“By analogy with notions of physical capital and human capital–tools and training that enhance individual productivity–”social capital” refers to features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit.” -Robert Putnam, Dillon Professor of International Affairs and director of the center for International Affairs at Harvard University
Traditional social networks such as church groups or business associations are finite to a geographic area. Online social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, are an infinite mash-up of mass membership associations and support groups. In a world driven by fear, more people are shifting their culdesac parties and civic engagement online. Great wealth lies within these virtual communities, but first you must become part of the community to reap the benefits.
To become part of the community, you must engage and consistently demonstrate:
A flourishing community is the result of individuals righteously practicing basic principles for the betterment of the whole.
Cultivate diverse ideas and rich conversation within online social networks and you will increase the quality of day-to-day conversation and ultimately, your business and life . You will be amazed at how naturally social trust is developed in a virtual world.
Nevertheless, the post did have some excellent elements, and Rohit did a nice job boiling them down to these four principles, of which three of them where above the board (Rohit chastised Greenberg for using “inflation” tactics to hijack numbers, what we call astroturfing on this blog). Here are the three “above the water” principles:
Content - Is the subject matter and story compelling enough to get people to pass it along?
Optimization - This has to do with how long the clip is, how you optimize it, what tags you use, and when you submit it.
Outreach - Obvious, but often forgotten … a key element to getting a video viewed is finding the right influential people to tell about it and increase the chances that they may pass it along.
Check out Greenberg’s post as there are many great ideas, but be wary of anything involving fake identity or spamming folks. For the record, here are Greenberg’s recommended tactics that I like:
Make it short: 30 seconds
Design for remixing: Create a video that is simple enough to be remixed over and over again by others.
Don’t make an outright ad: If a video feels like an ad, viewers won’t share it unless it’s really amazing.
Make it Shocking/Appeal to Sex: In short, make it entertaining. No one wants to watch a square… Or do they?
Optimize Tags, Title and Thumbnail: Use marketing skills to attract people to the video. Copy writing and intelligent visuals are critical. Know what’s going to sell the video to your client.
Use Your 48 Hour Window Intelligently: Once posted on YouTube, you have 48 hours to make it popular. Pitch to relevant bloggers, and through your social networks. But don’t cross the spamming line!
I’m a former news guy, so I do know a little something about credibility. I had sources that would tip me off to things that were happening. I had some that would pitch me on items that were important to them. Over time, they would earn or lose credibility based on what they told me and how well it panned out. The key there is “over time,” implying a relationship of trust — and it has a powerful business application.
Yesterday, I heard from an acquaintance of mine in New York City. He happened upon the partial collapse of a building in SoHo, and was close enough to share an eyewitness account on Twitter.
BREAKING: PARTIAL COLLAPSE OF TRUMP SOHO BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION. MAJOR CHUNKS RAINING DOWN ON STREETS
(Think of Twitter as a micro-blog and instant messenger that is friendly and compact enough to work on a cellphone.) He also found a way to upload a picture to his blog.
I’ve never met Peter Shankman in person. I met him through his blog, I’ve talked to him a few times and we’ve traded e-mails. Heck, I even helped him late one night when he was looking for information about the trains in San Francisco. But I’ve had enough interaction with him to know that he was onto something with the building collapse. In fact, I was able to alert my supervisors about the incident a full 15 minutes before the first cable news networks even sniffed the story.
Then late last night, while contemplating what I’d write for Now Is Gone, I got another Twitter message, this one from Jeremy Pepper:
Earthquake at 9.13 PM
That got my attention… and moments later I was able to confirm that everything was alright. It was only a 3.0 on the Richter scale. (This isn’t the first quake I’ve caught on Twitter before the news, either.) My social network is proving to be a source for newsworthy items long before they are mentioned in anyone’s news.
Faces and Curtains
Let’s contrast that to yesterday’s discussion about Wikipedia here at Now Is Gone. Not to rehash, but there are still issues about Wikipedia’s trust level. Most of the editors enjoy the protection of Oz’s Wizard, hiding their names, faces, and agenda behind a curtain of anonymity. Yes, it is nice to have hordes of free labor to work on your site. It’s not so friendly to business, and not as trustworthy, when those faceless minions can break you and you don’t have an opportunity to offer “truth” from a neutral standpoint.
The trick to social media is the “social” part. Just like every other aspect of business, it is who you know. Wikipedia might do really well in the search engines, and might just be good enough to write every term paper for the next ten years. But I don’t trust it blindly. I do trust the words of Peter and Jeremy, because we’ve established a baseline of credibility. The technology lets you “roll your own” sources and inputs — your judgment remains your filter about who to believe and who to reject.
Today, it’s even more than whoyou know. It’s what“the people you know” know.
At the behest of several followers on Twitter (follow me here), here’s a primer on Wikipedia astroturf and reputation management. Wikipedia entries are generated by readers who post entries on topics they care about or edit entries with or in need of more information. The power of Wikipedia cannot be underestimated. The site is currently the number 9 most visited site in the world according to Alexa, and is always a perennial Google search favorite.
Articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), representing fairly and, as much as possible, without bias all significant views (that have been published by r eliable sources).
That means companies, campaigners, PR firms and other hired guns cannot edit themselves (or clients) or add their own entries. To do so is considered Astroturfing. Most notably, Microsoft got busted astroturfing on an open-source entry, prompting a public outcry against the ethics violation.
Astroturfing is a slang term for false PR or fake social media in the blogosphere. No PR or marketing person wants to be dubbed an astroturfer. Wikipedia (not normally a great source) dubs astroturfing as, “formal public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that seek to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior.”
Compared to this definition, astroturfing in the blogosphere can be considered three shades slimier. Much of the ethical bantering in the marketing and PR blogosphere tends to revolve around astroturfing or corporate social media-related incidents. And these incidents tend to have a mushroom cloud hovering above them.
A lot of companies engage in astroturfing, most claiming ignorance when they are caught. But believe me, no one should engage in this practice because if caught, it forever taints your brand reputation. So don’t be quick to muddy the waters. And if you think you can edit Wikipedia addresses anonymously, think again. Wikiscanner demonstrates how editors trace IP address owners.
Wikipedia Reputation Management
Is there such a thing? Difficulties in protesting WIkipedia postings openly and honestly have gotten to the point that most of the major PR firms allow their current wikipedia entries to be half-false.
Because of the encyclopedia’s adamant policy against corporate-based information (representing a conflict of interest), companies have to suck it up more often than not. WIkipedia will only create unbiased entries.
In order to be successful with a contested entry, lots of third party information has to be provided. So companies have to cite legal documents, public records, journalist accounts, and other points of view published on the Internet if they want to contest an entry. In many cases, companies will not be able to provide this kind of factual accounting to write their ship. In fact that’s what caused Microsoft to engage in its astroturfing incident.
Wales said the proper course would have been for Microsoft to write or commission a “white paper” on the subject with its interpretation of the facts, post it to an outside Web site and then link to it in the Wikipedia articles’ discussion forums.
This is an OK way to handle it, and you should make sure any counter points are posted on the corporate blog in case someone searches your site for more information. You also have to combat the Wikipedia results that Google will serve. For an excellent read on Search Engine reputation management I recommend this post from Andy Beal, “Ten Ways to Fix a Google Reputation Nightmare.”
Four more reviews came out this week. Here’s a round-up of what people thought:
Rodger Johnsen had some issues with the book. “I think Livingston over-emphasizes the use of marketing as the be-all, end-all of communication for corporations. And his view of public relations is, well, myopic. One of the important points of making a social media strategy successful is knowing the audience, but Livingston thinks public relations counselors are lacking in that regard… But Livingston’s communication nearsightedness doesn’t distract from his understanding of how social media strategies can be successfully built.”
A brief write up was found on Diamond Hell: “When not in the workshop, or trawling the net for petrolhead information I’ve also managed to read a considerable portion of Now Is Gone, which is excellent… I’m going to be annoying those around me by recommending they read it, thrusting it into some of their faces, and telling them to read it!”
Andrew Badera also thought the book was great: “This book is precisely what it claims to be: a practical primer for new media. Moving right to the heart of every topic it covers, Now is Gone is straightforward and on the mark, with a succinct recap of salient points at the end of every chapter… Every executive, entrepreneur AND student ought to read this work, because moving forward, the activities and philosophies covered are going to be heart and core of nearly every company out there.”
Chris Brogan wrote up the book again. “One way to help organizations understand is through finding case studies. Superstar authors Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis provided an entire section of case studies to accompany their excellent Now Is Gone, a primer on new media for executives. It’s a quick read, and inexpensive enough that you can buy a copy without expensing it.”
Morpheus (to Neo): “Welcome to the real world.”
-The Matrix
Do not dismiss the power of an online community. This realm is full of real people, living real lives in real time.
Recently, tragedy struck too close to home. MAJ Andrew Olmsted published his final post. As part of my “real” (paying) job, I monitor military online networks and blogs. Through these forums I have a connection with the “front line” and discover their true needs and wants. I have followed MAJ Olmsted for over a year and read his trials and tribulations, but never did any situation in any blog feel as “real” as his final post.
“This is an entry I would have preferred not to have published, but there are limits to what we can control in life, and apparently I have passed one of those limits. And so, like G’Kar, I must say here what I would much prefer to say in person. I want to thank hilzoy for putting it up for me. It’s not easy asking anyone to do something for you in the event of your death, and it is a testament to her quality that she didn’t hesitate to accept the charge.” …
Cypher:“All I do is what he tells me to do. If I had to choose between that and the Matrix, I’d choose the Matrix.” Trinity:“The Matrix isn’t real. Cypher:“I disagree, Trinity. I think that the Matrix can be more real than this world. All I do is pull the plug here, but there…you have to watch Apoc die.” -The Matrix
Serving a military community, death is not a foreign topic for me. It is difficult to get a grip on the fact that this online being/”friend”/acquaintance/customer is gone and their digital voice silenced. The absence of sound is deafaning. Some people leave digital footprints on your heart. MAJ Olmsted was one of those people in my life.
Agent Smith:“You hear that Mr. Anderson?…That is the sound of inevitability… It is the sound of your death… Goodbye, Mr. Anderson…” Neo:“My name… is Neo.” -The Matrix
This week I witnessed an extraordinary account of an online community becoming an unstoppable force of gratitude, respect and tribute.
@Queenof Spain asks the Twitter community - What can we do for Ashley’s family? Twittering.ning.com, jumps on it. Within hours a Twitter remembrance avatar and site for donationsare created; messages of condolence and relief are passed immediately through personal networks. Ashley was a “real” person who established strong emotional connections virtually.
“As with many bloggers, I have a disgustingly large ego, and so I just couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to have the last word if the need arose. Perhaps I take that further than most, I don’t know. I hope so. It’s frightening to think there are many people as neurotic as I am in the world. In any case, since I won’t get another chance to say what I think, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Such as it is.” - MAJ Olmsted
Silly avatars, spammers and accounts of flogging overshadow the majority of people participating in social media. If ever you doubt the people online are not real, come back here for a dose of reality. These communities/villages are lightning in a bottle.
Trinity:“Neo…nobody has ever done this before.” Neo:“That why it’s going to work.” -The Matrix
We will not be publishing any additional content from the book electronically. The entire text is available at book stores, and most reliably, on Amazon.
On the playground, the most common way you’ll find to divide the teams is Shirts versus Skins. Having been a Skin on a hot day, it makes ventilation a little easier (and the tan a little more even.) It also requires you to learn how to take a few lumps along the way, and develop a thicker skin.
If you’re curious about or new to this stuff called “social media” or “new media,” there is a progression to understanding it. You don’t trot out onto the court and remove your shoes, just because you saw people without shirts. You get in slowly, in a measured way. Learn the rules of the playground, and you won’t embarrass yourself in public.
Your first step is the toughest, because it is nothing more than the realization that you really didn’t control as much of the discussion as you thought. People are talking about you, just like they always have, for good and for bad. But now they have access to publishing tools that extend those conversations across time and space. A conversation that seemingly ended eight months ago might revive, and include people from around the world who found it on Google. These comments about your products, services, competence, and ethics have always happened, but the general public never had a way to reach beyond their ripples to the wider ocean. The internet can carry the circles of influence further than before, and the ripples intersect with greater frequency.
Two eyes, two ears, one mouth.
These same technologies that link so many people and their opinions also leave behind bread crumbs — opportunities for you listen to the people that can give you the best advice: your customers. But that means you’ll hear some things you’ll rather wish you didn’t. Some will be bad news, some misperceptions, some outright lies. You’ve got to resist the urge to run in and fix everything. Remember, know the rules of the playground before you charge in.
Every playground is a little different. In some, you call your own fouls. In others, there are no fouls unless there’s blood. Some people play “make-it take-it” basketball (the scoring team retains possession.) The only way you’ll know how to participate without scorn is to watch and listen. And for that, you need a thick skin.
Obvious libels aside, you need to measure your responses. That takes a little bit of experience and a whole lot of patience. I find myself wanting to drop into a comment stream on a forum, or in the reader comments of a newspaper website. It’s human nature — but you’ve got to count to ten and toughen up the skin.
Some people will never change their mind anyway.
If there’s nothing you can do to appease, and nothing to be gained, then you likely have everything to lose.
Some people, by virtue of their life circumstances, aren’t worth debating.
Even if you win, you still look like a jerk.
Many, many people who write on the internet do not influence very many others.
If a blog has only a dozen readers, it probably isn’t your immediate priority.
You can do more harm than good.
A poorly-designed response can trigger an even more venomous counter, which is sure to magnify the attention.
In future posts, we’ll look at some of the tools and knowledge you’ll need to know what to do, what to say, and how you can simultaneously contribute value to the community and to your corporate interests. But for now, open up the channels and start listening. Just listen with a thick skin, lest you lose your shirt.
There’s a ton of market research coming out revealing continued increases in consumer use of social networks and other social media forms. Most of these numbers show the United States is experiencing numbers that put it in the early majority phase of the adoption cycle, as outlined in to Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory.
54% of Americans use social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards to socialize.
54% of those surveyed said they are creating their own entertainment content by editing photos, videos or music.
45% are making the content for others to see.
45% have a profile on a social networking site.
38% of Americans are watching TV shows online.
The Deloitte “State of Media Democracy” report holds the most bullish numbers I’ve seen to date. While they represent a sampling of the population (more than 2,000), the numbers are hard to deny. Other studies confirm the trend.
eMarketer offers more conservative, but still very high usage numbers, estimated that 38% of the population uses social network sites regularly.
Through friend Jim Turbin at Ignite Social Media (a great blog, subscribe now!), we have access to another study. According to the report by Strategy Analytics, more than one billion broadband users will be actively using social media applications by 2012, which is only 5 years from now. Currently, there are estimated to be 373 million users worldwide.
An October Forrester study claimed that 60% of active web users look to blogs and user-generated media as “more trustworthy” than corporate web sites, press releases, etc.
What Does Early Majority Mean?
All of these numbers show higher usage numbers, and that social media has become an acceptable content form for a significant portion of the U.S. population. It’s apparent that Americans see participatory media as a viable alternative to their already existing set of media options. It doesn’t mean that old media forms are going away (at least most of them), but the competition for consumer eyeballs has intensified.
I became intimate with Roget’s Diffusion Theory at Georgetown University as part of my graduate work. Early majority means the era of early adopters is over, that the innovation in question has hit mainstream consumption. The innovation is no longer perceived as risky or brand new, and has become accepted within the adopting culture as a viable alternative.
One outcome of the early majority phase for social media can be increased usage across more risk-adverse and conservative segments of society. So folks who are not necessarily afraid to try things, but want proven services will start dabbling.
For example, my 85 year-old grandmother joined Skype last week, and my 67 year-old father in law has active Facebook and Flickr profiles. Neither of these two are big technology wizards, but they are both active readers and use the Internet.
The future is never certain, and social media adoption rates could stagnate today, or even retreat. But it’s quite incredible to see numbers in the 30-60 percentile range. One must wonder where the numbers will be by July 4th. And dare we ask, will we be looking at the late majority phase by the end of the year?
We had three more reviews this week, all very favorable. First up was Techno//Marketer’s Matt Dickman, a veteran social media marketer. Matt said:
Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis solidly deliver on the book’s promise and tag line “a primer on new media for executives and entrepreneurs”. Now is Gone, however, provides solid knowledge to bolster even the most veteran maven’s arsenal. It’s a fairly quick read, but the documentation and references help continue the conversations online.
Contagious Solutions’ Tony Steward also reviewed the book. Tony thought the book was unusually pragmatic:
This however is the first book I have seen that answers all the questions I have heard from CEOs, Executives and Lead Pastors about the Social Media space, its measurement, its value and strategies for being effective. If you are either a person in one of those roles, or the person who needs to communicate the value of Social Media to them - I would recommend this book be your first read and manual.
I think I learned more from the first ten pages than I have from all the one-day courses I have ever taken since I graduated way back in 2000.
Overall, there have been 38 reviews to date. An overwhelming majority of the reviews have been extremely positive and every single one of them recommended the book. You can find all of the reviews here.
On the playground, the most common way you’ll find to divide the teams is Shirts versus Skins. Having been a Skin on a hot day, it makes ventilation a little easier (and the tan a little more even.) It also requires you to learn how to take a few lumps along the way, and develop a thicker skin.
