How NOT to be The Social Media Guru
It's a tough time to be a 'social media guru'. Despite the rise of social media in general, there's a lot of skepticism when it comes to high-paid consultants who claim to have mastered it. From where I sit, that skepticism only seems to grow by the day.
That skepticism is reflected well in an amusing NSFW animation called 'The Social Media Guru', which has racked up over 100,000 views on YouTube since being posted at the end of September. It portrays a 'social media guru' as a snake oil salesman who claims to be more skilled than he is and who preys on foolish small businesses.
Royal Mail strike: some etailers see sales fall
Two thirds of online retailers have seen a 30% fall in their revenues since the Royal Mail strike began, and a third have seen a drop of around 24% in visitors numbers.
In a IMRG survey of online retailers, 85% believe that, with no sign of a resolution to the dispute in sight, the strike will discourage people from shopping online this Christmas.
Does Twitter really cost UK businesses £1.38bn?
Another survey about the cost of social network use is doing the rounds today, this one suggesting that workers' use of Twitter and other social networks costs the UK economy £1.34bn in wasted time.
As with many of these types of surveys, on social network use during work, or using worktime for Christmas shopping, fails to take shrinking lunchtimes into account, as well as the potential benefits of having employees using Twitter.
Has Yahoo peed the carpet with its new ad campaign?
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is tired of the press trying to dictate what Yahoo should and shouldn't do with its business. But the company's new $100 million ad campaign, which was met with much derision from the press when it launched last month, does not appear to be doing well with consumers.
In an interview with The New York Times this week, Bartz explained her views on feedback:
"I have the puppy theory. When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you don’t say six months later, 'Remember that day, January 12th, when you peed on the carpet?' That doesn’t make any sense. 'This is what’s on my mind. This is quick feedback.' And then I’m on to the next thing."
Is it time to admit that Yahoo peed the carpet?
ChaCha joins the great 2009 online coupon rush
Coupons often become required shopping tools when the economy is tough, and online the prognosis is no different. Over the past year, online and mobile shoppers have increasing relied on coupons during the purchasing process. And now mobile answer service ChaCha is joining the pack.
Dogster grows its empire of pet-related advertising with LOLcats
Sometimes an obsession with pets can pay off. This week online dog community Dogster announced plans to sell advertising for pet humor empire I Can Haz Cheezburger.
When did Dogster become an ad network? Apparently, over the past five years it spent cultivating ad relationships instead of banging on doors looking for VC money.
Q&A: Tamara Littleton on online moderation
EModeration, launched in 2002, provides user generated content moderation for a number of clients in the US, from children's virtual worlds to ad campaigns that have a UGC element.
I've been talking to CEO and founder Tamara Littleton about her approach to the issue of online moderation, and the work she has been doing for advertisers...
Microsoft's new 'visual search' is good for advertisers
Microsoft Corp. is testing out a new way to search select topics by retreiving visual results instead of text. A list of about 50 popular categories now return image results.
From The AP:
"Bing's new visual search page lets people flip through pictures to track down where and when a popular movie is playing, read up on baseball players or shop for items like digital cameras."
At launch, the visual search option only works on a few topics, but it's a great move for brands. For starters, the new search option is designed with advertisers in mind.
Foursquare gets past the man power problem by crowdsourcing its Vancouver launch
What do startups strapped for cash — and time — do when they want to expand their brand into new places? In the case of Foursquare, they're letting their users do it for them.
The location-based messaging service, begun by Naveen Selvadurai and Dennis Crowley in New York City, has been getting a lot of positive press lately. (I've written previously about the company here.)
But keeping up with all of that attention is a different story. While many online companies can easily push their web presence globally, Foursquare is currently only available in 22 cities. The technology is capable of working anywhere, but making it useful takes work on the ground. And in Vancouver, users are willing to put in those hours themselves. Starting on September 9, Foursquare is launching in the Canadian city. With a little help from the city's residents. And marketing firm 6S. If it goes well, this could greatly expand the company's reach. And show how a little positive word of mouth can go global.
The workaround: technology strikes back
People have been finding workarounds for poorly designed systems for many years. Although both the technology and the workarounds have become more sophisticated, the problem, and its solution, remains the same.
Many years ago, before web-based interfaces, we were asked to investigate why an online ordering system wasn’t delivering the promised productivity benefits. Our research, which involved videoing staff dealing with telephone orders and then interviewing them about the process, soon revealed the problem.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
