B.L. Ochman's blog

Why Do So Many Companies Hide Their Social Media Involvement?

2009-11-19T05:16:55Z

While thousands of companies have either experimental or well-established presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites, those communities remain invisible on all but a tiny fraction of company homepages.

Why do companies hide their social media efforts from visitors?

My guess is that their reasons include
o fear that they'll lose control of their brand if too many people know they can have a say;
o lack of cooperation between marketing and IT;
o and perhaps pressure from lawyers who are nervous about new-fangled new media.

It's hard to find a company website whose homepage easily and clearly allows visitors to see all of the its social media initiatives. You'd have to be Nancy Drew to find the company blog on most websites, or its Facebook page, or all of its YouTube videos.

Starbucks new homepage, recently re-designed, stands head and shoulders above the rest for clarity, ease of use and organization. Clean and clear, it has a community heading above the fold, and clearly lists Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, among other links.

A few companies try to curate their content effectively, including:
o Dell tries, although you have to click into Community to find them on Twitter, Facebook, and so on;
o HP (although Connect with Others is a more than a little bit vague IMO).
o Zappos, whose CEO was a Twitter pioneer, has absolutely no indication of its community features on its homepage, although its new Zeta site, now in beta, includes an area about the company culture that will lead you to company blogs. But you still have to look hard to find it.
o On Walmart's site you have to scroll to the bottom of the homepage, and there's something called Connect and Share, which leads you, via the headline "Connect with other customers like you" (whatever that means,) eventually, to the company blogs, etc.

The more things change....
Back in 2006, i wondered why companies were hiding their blogs. Most still don't feature them prominently on the homepage, and I think the reasons are still the same:

"Literally thousands of CEOs, marketing officers, analysts, engineers and other corporate employees are blogging. Yet you'll be hard-pressed to find most corporate blogs through the company web sites. My guess is that lawyers or PR departments are a more than a little nervous about this whole new media, "listen to your customers" thing, so they said "Well, ok, we can try it, but don't make the damn blog too easy to find."

A comment by Diane Ensey summed it up well:

"... that is one way to avoid having to face critical comments on your blog!"

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Three Top Reasons Why Social Media is Still a Tough Sell

2009-11-10T02:47:17Z

By B.L. Ochman

Big companies have moved cautiously for eons. While many are corporations are making forays into social media, very, very few are taking huge risks. Instead of jumping in, they're still standing on the edge of the pool, diipping a toe in the water. As a result, getting companies to add social media into the marketing mix is still a hard sell. Here are three of the top reasons why.

1- Consultants make social media sound scary.
Consultants, eager to prove the viability of social media in the marketing mix, are overwhelming stodgy companies by making social media sound more complex than it is.

A lot of consultants make what they do sound like a cross between vodoo magic and rocket science. The goal, I guess, is to make potential clients feel there is no way they could do whatever is being sold on their own.

But social media is not rocket science. And even if it was, making it easy to understand will win every time. The best professor I ever had in college taught physics. He could break rocket science down into simple terms. Do that for management and they'll love you.

2- The magic word is "sales"

All most companies care about is whether they can make their numbers for the next quarter. Coolness may be the cherry on top, but it's not the goal for most publicly held companies.

Social media becomes strategically viable when - blasphemous as this may sound to many SM gurus - the goal of its integration into the marketing mix is to go beyond cool and actually help to sell products and services.

3- Companies worry that cutting edge consultants won't fit the corporate culture.
Changing the status quo can cause quite an upheaval in a company that has been dealing with silos for decades. Consultants need to prove to management that they will not make them look or feel inadequate because they can't change quickly.

Consultants worry too much about making themselves look good and proving how smart they are.

The role of a smart consultant is to focus on making the client look smart for hiring you.

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Think There Are No More Real Heroes? Meet Zoe Koplowitz

2009-11-02T16:13:26Z

I hope you will show this post to someone you love.

This morning, at 9:30 a.m., I had the great good fortune to meet up with Zoe Koplowitz, as she approached mile 24 of her 21st NYC Marathon - on purple day-glo crutches, 27 hours after the start of the race.

She, and a team of Guardian Angels who acompany her as she keeps her pace of approximately one mile per hour, were on course to finish her race in just under 29 hours.

She told me she felt "fine," and we talked about her dog, as Benny - clearly recognizing a great soul - bowed before her (his best trick.) I told her she was a great inspiration to me personally, and, I am certain, to everyone else who knows her story.

Kolpowitz, who lives in Manhattan, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than 30 years ago at age 25. She was not well enough to do last year's marathon, so I was thrilled to see her smiling as she came toward me and Benny.

Here's what Zoe Koplowitz says about the marathon:

"I am sending a message to everyone that you don't need to win the race to be a winner in life."

""The marathon is really only a metaphor for life."

" "Everybody faces marathons each day whether it be looking after kids, parents or at work - it is about finishing what you have started."

Photo: B.L. Ochman

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

10 Things Social Media Can't Do

2009-10-31T18:30:33Z

By B.L. Ochman

Amid the endless pronouncements about social media -- often shortened to "social" these days by consultants trying to sound like they know what they are talking about -- is the reality that social media is not a solution, or a sure bet.

Social media can't:

1. Substitute for marketing strategy
A Twitter campaign, or a Facebook page that announces your weekly specials is not a marketing strategy.

2. Succeed without top management buy-in
Social media requires a way of thinking that includes willingness to listen to customers, make changes based on feedback, and trust employees to talk to customers.

The culture of fear (of job loss, of losing message control, of change) is ingrained in corporate cultures. Top management has to want to change.

Be viewed as a short-term project
Social media is not a one-shot deal. It's a long-term commitment to openness, experimentation, and change that requires time to bear fruit.

Produce meaningful, measurable results quickly
One of the complaints about social media is that it can't be measured. But in fact there are many things that can be measured: including engagement, sentiment, and whether increased traffic leads to sales.

Those results can't be produced or measured in the short term. Like PR, social media marketing often produces its best results in the second and third year.

Be done in-house by the vast majority of companies
A successful social media campaign integrates social media into the many elements of marketing, including advertising, digital, and PR. Opinion and theory are no match for experience, and the best social media marketers now have more than 10 years of experience incorporating interactivity, blogs, forums, user-generated content, and contests into online marketing.

You need strategy, contacts, tools, and experience--a combination not generally found in in-house teams, who often reinvent the wheel or use the wrong tools.

Provide a quick fix to the bottom line or a tarnished reputation
Social media can sometimes provide quick results for a company that's already a star. When a well-loved company like Zappos, or Google employs social media, its loyal fans and followers pay attention.

However, there's a lot of desperation in a lot of corporate suites these days, and many companies seem been convinced that a social media campaign can provide a quick fix to sagging sales or reputation issues. Sorry, nuh, uh.

Be done without a realistic budget
Building a site that incorporates interactivity, allows user-generated content, and perhaps also includes e-commerce doesn't come cheap from anyone who knows what they are doing.

Even taking free software like WordPress and making it function as an effective interactive site, incorporating e-commerce, creating style sheets that integrate with the company's branding, takes more than time. That takes skill, experience, and money.

Guarantee sales or influence
Unless your effort can pass the "who cares" test - and most simply can't - your social media efforts will fall flat.

And unless you know how to drive traffic to your contest, video, blog, event, etc. you'll have little more than an expensive field of dreams.

Be done by "kids" who "understand social innately"
You can climb Mt Kilaminjaro without a sherpa guide, but why would you? Experience and perspective can make the trip easier, or even save your life.

Companies trying to run social media without experienced consultants waste time, money, and reputation on their efforts. And then, sadly, many decide that this new-fangled approach doesn't work.

Replace PR
No matter how great your website, video contest, blog, Twitter strategy, etc. you still need publicity. Or you may end up with a tree falling in the forest, and nobody hearing it.

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Top Five Reasons Why Free is a Good Business Model & How We Plan to Use it to Retire Before We're 90

2009-10-30T16:21:30Z

Pawfun, the site I hope will one day allow me to say "I used to be a corporate social media consultant", is one year old this month.

My partner, Caimin Jones, and I started out thinking we'd sell a ton of t-shirts, customized photo note cards, and personalized pet photo greeting cards to pet lovers. We've sold a bunch, but not enough to allow us to retire from consulting before we're 90.

Then, Eureka! We realized that we weren't using the very community-building tools we've spent the last 10 years cajoling our Fortune 500 clients into trying.

Pawfun's new focus: free
We're changing our focus. You can still buy products from Pawfun. But now you can also design and share free photo e-cards of your pets, using the fast and easy Design Wizard that Caimin, aka Technical Paw, created for Pawfun.

You can share your Pawfun e-cards with friends via email, Twitter, Facebook and more.

Pawfun Gallery
You can see, send, and share all the creative pet photo ecards people are creating with the Pawfun Design Wizard in the continuously updated Pawfun Gallery. The latest designs also are on our homepage and on Pawfun Blog too.

We've also got a series of community-based features planned - also free - and the focus of all of them is fun. Can't wait to show them to you!

Why give away free e-cards? Because

We know from long experience that the more you give away, the more you get back.

After all, I've been giving away information on this blog for eight years. In return, it has brought me clients who allow me to make a wonderful living and enjoy my entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Sites with lots of traffic and an involved community are attractive to advertisers

any new business needs traffic, community, and a reason for people to return to the site on a regular basis.

Companies are already suggesting ways we could tie in our Design Wizard and their sales of pet products. We're sure more than one of these liaisons is going to be great. And we're interested in any licensing or other opportunities you want to discuss.

And the best reason of all: it's fun seeing everyone's wonderful creations.

So please go to Pawfun's e-card Design Wizard and decorate your favorite pet photos and share them with the world. We can't wait to see your designs.

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Top 13 Guidelines for Commenting on Blog Posts

2009-10-29T16:17:05Z

Like most bloggers, I love comments on my posts. Comments help bloggers feel like we're not talking to ourselves.

I've learned a lot over the years from the smart people who comment on my posts. And I've made many friends whom I never would have met otherwise.

Sometimes, I sit at my computer laughing out loud at the funny things people say. And sometimes, I just shake my head and wonder what in the world a person was thinking.

Even though blogs have been on the landscape for more than a decade, it seems that some people don't understand how to comment on blog posts. So here are some guidelines that apply to What's Next Blog and other blogs too.

You do not need to add your name, your URL and your email to the comment. Your name will automatically be linked to the URL you provide. Bloggers never publish your email, but you need to have a valid email for your comment to be published. (I check)

Brevity is next to godliness. Do not write a comment longer than my post. Get your own blog if you are so stuffed with opinions.

Be reasonable

Do not pitch me in a blog comment. This just pisses me off.

Be nice to each other. Don't be mean to other commenters.

Be civil. if I wouldn't tolerate it in my living room, I will not tolerate it in a comment on my blog. Comments are moderated.

Have a point. Don't ramble.

Read the whole post before you comment. Don't just comment on the comments. I swear half the people who comment on blogs don't read the posts.

Take your personal issues elsewhere please.

Don't think for a minute that a personal attack will be published

Do not make anonymous comments They will not be published here unless using your name might endanger your life or your livelihood. And then you'll need to prove it.

White space is your friend. It's hard enough to read from a computer screen. Use short sentences, and short paragraphs. Write in an active voice. At least try to be gramatically correct.

if you don't like my comment policy, start your own blog.

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Ricola Cougher: a sick campaign that needs to die is baaaack!

2009-10-29T14:42:22Z

Yes, the entire world is paranoid about Swine Flu. Yes, everyone is ready to lynch people who cough, sneeze or sniffle in public. And yes, The Ricola Cougher, surely one of the Top 10 most ill-conceived marketing campaigns in history, is baaaaaaaack!

Since 2005, the cougher has been turning up in public places and coughing. The first person to run up and hand him a cough drop won a prize. He coughed in hair salons, movie theaters, malls, parties and parks. He's lucky he didn't cough on the subway in New York, where people kill people who look at them wrong.

This year, for the first time since the Cougher started his or her germy journey, the search only takes place online. I guess they couldn't get an insurance policy on a live cougher during a flu epidemic.

The grand prize is $1 million, and there are $1K weekly prizes for six weeks. Netflix started the current trend toward $1M contest prizes. But Netflix contest was interesting, engaging and fun. Unlike the cougher.

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Study: Dear Ad Agencies: If the creative sucks, nothing else matters

2009-10-27T01:49:41Z

Listen up ad agencies, CMOs, CFOs and CEOs - if your online advertising is failing, blame the creative and stop concentrating on targeting, ad format and interruption technologies. That's what a recent study by web research firm Dynamic Logic says.

I say, amen.

In fact, creative quality is not only important in driving critical brand metrics including brand favorability and purchase intent, Dynamic Logic found that the worst performing ads had the ability to negatively impact brand metrics. In other words, lousy ads can have a negative impact on your bottom line.

Dynamic Logic is holding a free online seminar about their findings on Tuesday, Oct 27 at 1:30 p.m. Sign up here.

A case in point, based on NBC TV's ads for the Olympics on this blog in 2007

What could really be more dramatic, dynamic, and intriguing than the individual stories of the athletes who devote their lives to their sport in hopes of someday winning a gold medal? Yet NBC chose to run a blob of copy and an annoying countdown clock showing how many days until the Olympics. Zzzzzz.

I told them, more than once, that their ads sucked. They didn't listen. And I am quite certain that their agency, like many others who create absolutely dreadful online advertising, concluded that blog advertising doesn't work.

Let me conclude with one of my all-time favorite Hugh Macleod cartoons. I have considered getting it as a tattoo.

Bonus Link:
Debunking Five Myths About Blog Advertising

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Artist John T Unger, Creator of Artisanal Firebowls, Sued in Federal Court by Imitator, Needs Help Raising Legal Defense Funds in Case With Far-Reaching Implications

2009-10-27T00:07:28Z

My friend, artist John T Unger - creator of copyrighted sculptural Artisanal Firebowls - is getting an unwanted education in copyright law, and is appealing to the online community to help him raise funds to win a federal court case that could have far-reaching intellectual property implications for the original work created by other artists and creative entrepreneurs.

Far-reaching implications
If you make a living as a creative artist or in other creative endeavors, you could easily find yourself in Unger's shoes one day. He is holding a fundraising sale of his most popular artwork to finance a defense in court. You can read all the details of the situation on John's website.

Unger says Rick Wittrig, owner of FirePitArt.com, is not only manufacturing and selling products which are extremely similar to Unger's, but also has brought a federal lawsuit to have the copyrights for Unger's original artwork over-turned.

Attempts at settlement have been unsuccessful, Unger says, and "seeking a judicial ruling in federal court will cost more than any artist or small business can afford on its own."

This lawsuit has gone forward despite the fact that, since 2005, Unger has built a successful career creating and selling his firebowls to individual collectors, galleries, churches, hotels, restaurants and public parks. Unger obtained legal copyright for his designs to protect his original sculptures from piracy.

John T Unger's Defense Fund
Any weakening of copyright laws affecting the intellectual property of one artist could easily erode the rights of many others involved in creative endeavor. For that reason, and because I know John as a compassionate and generous person who has helped many people, including me, I am appealing to you to please help John by contributing to his defense fund.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, (WIPO)

"Copyright and its related rights are essential to human creativity, by giving creators incentives in the form of recognition and fair economic rewards. Under this system of rights, creators are assured that their works can be disseminated without fear of unauthorized copying or piracy."

"I have no interest in imitation," Unger says. "If Mr. Wittrig had spent the time, energy and money that has gone into this lawsuit on designing original work, with its own story and its own unique appeal, there would be plenty of room for both of us to succeed on our own merits."

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

What's Next Blog Interview: Suzanne Lowe on how to keep corporate silos from impeding success. Just move past them!

2009-10-21T03:13:01Z

What's Next Blog interviewed Suzanne Lowe, the president of Expertise Marketing, LLC, about her important new book, "The Integration Imperative."

The book addresses the silos that create structural and cultural barriers to effective marketing and selling in professional and business service firms. But the principles and case studies apply equally well to the corporate silos that keep corporations in B2C and B2B from grasping and responding to the changes they must make to remain competitive in the Internet Age.

Lowe is a professional services marketing analyst, advisor, writer and speaker on the best practices and emerging strategies in professional services marketing. Her firm provides marketing and management analysis and guidance to the leaders of major professional service firms including Nielsen, Deloitte, Perkins+Will, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Turner Construction, among many others.

The gist of her extraordinary new book is to identify the silos, fix them, and move on. Easier said than done? Lowe's advice in a nutshell:

Recognize that you'll have to change

Identify and talk about the issues.

Don't place blame.

Find the problem and fix it. Get past it. Get over yourself - be open to new capabilities.

Learn from others and be open to new capabilities - this makes for a great company

Incorporate entrepreneurialism - there will always be people who are capable of seeing change and the need for it.

"If I were a CEO," Lowe says, "I'd want a sentry who'll notice things we could do better. Inevitably, breaking down internal barriers will require internal change. That's how marketplace change happens."

Here are the highlights of our conversation about corporate silos, based on Lowe's must-read book, "The Integration Imperative."

What's Next Blog: What purpose do silos serve in companies?

Lowe: In order to be effective in the marketplace, companies rely on specialists who are excellent in finance, human resources, marketing. . Just like on an organizational chart on a piece of paper, people end up in little boxes -- with identified boundaries of capability. At some tipping point, they tip into becoming too specialized.

What's Next Blog: In the book, you said silos prevent competitive effectiveness, impede financial success and hinder optimal client service. Why are they still so prevalent?

Lowe: Too many managers, especially in the services sector, manage by waiting for a big crisis to occur. They then realize, for example, that they can't get their tech people to work with marketing people.

Silos are incrementally built. If the CEO of a company is watching for big marketplace trends and not noticing micro trends, silos remain in place.

Take the Quiz: Which silos does your company have?
The first step is to understand which silos affect your company. To find out, companies can go online and take our assessment tests for instant confidential results about whether they have structural and/or cultural silos (usually it's both). Then you can say "ok, what will I do about this?"

For companies that want to erase their silos, The Integration Imperative offers some stories and models about how to do it.

What's Next Blog: How has the notion of incorporating new technologies changed the way business is done? Has it changed the silos? Or has it just created new ones?

Lowe: When it comes to marketplace changes posed by the Internet, most companies are not ready to adapt quickly. But they do like to encourage internal entrepreneurism, so they allow their "lead users" (people who naturally embrace new things) to undertake Internet or Web 2.0 initiatives, often as pilot programs.

New initiatives create new silos
But when these pilot programs take on a life of their own, silos crop up where they didn't exist before. A disconnected microsite is a great example of this kind of silo. Another example is when marketers create a Second Life virtual world, thinking it will appeal to young clients. It doesn't. Too bad these marketers didn't work with their HR colleagues first - those darn silos again -- because Second Life turns out to be a great recruiting tool.

Managers might think the new pilots themselves are the problem (they're usually not). Instead, they should ask the lead users to develop these pilot programs with integration as the ultimate goal.

Silos lead to marketplace ineffectiveness
That's why I wrote the book. Many companies don't yet see that silos lead to marketplace ineffectiveness - just think of the wasted time and money when a microsite isn't effectively linked to high-traffic pages - and silos certainly lead to missed marketplace opportunities - like the virtual world built for the wrong audience.

What's Next Blog You mention: distrust, short-term thinking, marginalizing of marketing, unrealistic expectations, demand for talent and high turnover. I have definitely encountered all of these! Yet, I wonder, how much of that is the fault of marketing? Are marketers lousy communicators?

Lowe: Just like anyone else, they have unrealistic expectations; they distrust people.

Marketing shares in creating impediments also. When it comes to the evolution of the marketer's function, marketers need to get smarter about techniques used to make astute decisions: competitive financial analysis, behavioral psychology, etc.

Marketers have unrealistic expectations
But most of the time professional service marketers are not in the driver's seat. They are kept out of decisions, not allowed into the C-suite. They are marginalized.

This marginalization is partly is the reason marketers have unrealistic expectations of management. If they are not involved in making management decisions or shaping strategy they have no concept of what management sees from a broad perspective.

Management has a lot of other financial constraints and many marketers don't have a good sense of the way to run a business. They specialized historically in marketing communications and didn't embrace the business management techniques that other areas have to embrace.

That has certainly changed, but some marketers are still behind the curve.

Tear down the walls!
Marketers need to break down barriers between marketing, finance, and HR. Marketers will need to take the first steps to say "We can become more integrated and synergistic internally. Let me show you how."

As an example, in the book there is a case study of a temporary staffing firm, Randstad. Its CMO embraced the imperative of more financial productivity; he and his team started acting like financial managers. Now, he partners with the company's CFO. Together, they make better decisions. They've increased their credibility within the firm.

What's Next Blog: Can you give us three to five key suggestions, from your data, on the most effective ways firms in your case studies have overcome the challenges created by silos?

Lowe:

Identify and talk about the challenges.

Don't fall prey to subjectivity. Don't make it a blame game. Just fix it.

Embrace the pursuit of change.

Accept the fact that your clients -- and especially, your younger colleagues -- are going to be affected by changes in the marketplace

What's Next Blog: Why is there so much confusion about how to measure marketing? Why is this so hard?

Lowe: Many companies are too tactically focused. They think the only way to measure marketing is quantitatively. People need to embrace qualitative measurements.

Also too many companies end up measuring as if they are looking at a grain of sand. But a robust marketing program is more like a beach that is always changing with the tides. Managers should step back and look at the beach and the tides. They shouldn't look at whether one grain of sand moves between today and tomorrow.

Don't waste your time looking at incremental changes in sub-percentages.
But you can measure behavior change in professionals. I found a great example of this approach with R.W. Beck, and I wrote about the way this company changed its performance management system regarding marketing and selling.

The R.W. Beck case study showed how its leaders changed measurement systems, and streamlined them across the company. By changing their measurement of people's behavior regarding marketing and selling, they made it possible for people to work better together with the same set of expectations. (Did I collaborate with my colleague in Orlando to cross-sell services? Can I work better with people in the Boston office? Did I introduce them to my Orlando based client?)

All of those behaviors can now be measured, and those measurements help the functions of marketing and selling work more effectively together. Measuring how well you collaborate with colleagues is strategy.

Volkswagon's Fun Theory Contest: A+ for Concept, C- for Execution

2009-10-19T16:56:52Z

We love this concept! Volkswagon's The Fun Theory campaign is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as making something fun is the easiest way to change people's behavior for the better.

"Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different," says the site, "the only thing that matters is that it's change for the better."

The three example videos are terrific: like The Piano Stairs, which caused 67% more people to take the stairs because doing so became fun. There's a contest through November 15th, to find inventions, ideas, and thoughts that help prove The Fun Theory.

Outdated way to hold judging
All of this is great - until you get to how the award will be given.

There is a jury - four judges - who will decide on the winner. Sure, they all are terrific. Yet, given the proliferation of social media, and the tools easily available to allow the public to participate in judging contests, this is a pretty old-fashioned way to determine a contest outcome. At least let the public vote on the top 10 entries before the judges determine the winners.

So, we give it an A+ for concept, and a C- for execution. Too bad.

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Augmented Reality Meets Social Media at Meijer Halloween Site. Will it Blend?

2009-10-14T20:58:30Z

Companies from GE to Popular Science to Doritos have begun incorporating augmented reality (AR) into their marketing, and iPhone and Google Android have begun proliferating. A simple definition: Augmented reality integrates objects in the real world with computer generated images.

Augmented reality is the technology buzzword of the moment with interest burgeoning over the past 12 months. And now my client, Meijer, the 190-store mid-western retail chain, is mixing augmented reality with social media in their Halloween Transform Yourself in 3D site. Will it blend? We'll soon see.

AR is fun, it's interesting, and it's still also just a little clunky. While mobile phones rely on their built-in cameras; on a computer, you need a webcam, a microphone, and some type of plug-in to allow AR to be seen in 3D. You can read about the variety of augmented reality apps vying for market domination in this Digital Beat article.

The article cites Total Immersion as a Tier One utility, and that's the plug-in that Springthrough, the firm that developed Meijer's Transform Yourself in 3-D Halloween experience chose.

On the Meijer Halloween micro-site, augmented reality tracks your eyes as you look at a webcam, and you can make a 3D video of yourself in one of four masks, and augment your voice in a 30-second recording. Then you can share your video on Twitter, post it on Facebook, or send it in email with one click on the respective icons.

(If you don't have a webcam, just use the coupon on the Transform Yourself in 3D site and Meijer will sell you one for $5, with free shipping.) You also can buy the masks and other Halloween goodies through the site.

Will everyone want to download the plug-in? Nope. Steve Hall at adrants hated it. But judging by the traffic to the site, and the comments chiding him on his post, a lot of people are curious enough to try augmented reality.

I added the download in a couple of minutes, and then the site was intuitive and fun. Some of my Meijer Halloween videos are here and here another one, created by a peculiar creature is here. Have some fun making your own at the Meijer Halloween site.

Meijer's first foray into social media was with The Headless Horseman last Halloween.

This year there will be Headless Horseman events in five cities: Chicago 10/16, Indianapolis 10/17, Cincinnati 10/23, Columbus 10/24, and Grand Rapids on 10/30. Like last year, people who text Meijer during the events could win cash.

Nobody really knows AR will end up. Will it become part of our daily communication experience, or just a fun toy? Will it fall from grace like Second Life?

I've been among those who've been predicting the 3D Internet for the past several years, and applications like these bring us closer to the day when our real-time online experience will be seamlessly integrated into Google and everywhere else we go online.

In the meantime, have fun. Transform Yourself in 3D. Happy Halloween y'all.

Bonus LInks:
- Jeremiah Owyang: Three Future-Looking Videos Of Augmented Reality For Business

- David Berkowitz: When Augmented Reality Goes Social

- Mashable: Augmented Reality Goes 3D, Gets Even More Awesome

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Drew Carey Ups the Ante to $1 Million in Twitter Charity Auction. Take That Cancer! You Jerk!

2009-10-07T18:29:27Z

Drew Olanoff is kicking cancer's sorry ass - again. Diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, he had already raised more than $20,000 to help the Lance Armstrong Livestrong Foundation fight cancer with his #BlameDrewsCancer Twitter campaign and Blame Cancer initiatives.

Now Olanoff is auctioning off his Twitter name @Drew and actor Drew Carey is bidding $1 million for in the first-ever Twitter Charity Auction.

Take that cancer! Drew's don't like you. You're finished.

Olanoff has had @Drew since Twitter's earliest days. By time Carey signed up, he had to settle for @DrewFromTV. So Olanoff realized this his digital identity might be worth money. With Twitter's blessings, because the auction is for charity and not personal gain, Olanoff announced the auction.

Olanoff gets his last cancer treatment on Nov 2, and celebrates his birthday on Nov. 9. He says "I'm obviously going to have a really sweet party/fundraiser on that day (1 on each coast), but I wanted to do something else. Do something to kick Cancer right where it hurts.

So he decided to auction his treasured @Drew for charity. All proceeds go to LIVESTRONG and bidding ends on November 9th. The highest bid gets it. Just tweet your bid with the hashtag #drewbid.

Besides showing the amazing spirit of Olanoff, the auction demonstrates yet again, what really rocks about social media. It gives everyone a voice, lets people communicate in real-time, simultaneously, worldwide.

While corporations are worrying about the public damaging their brand by saying what they think about it; while companies stick a little toe in the water to see what social media is all about and have endless meetings to decide how to avoid injury, ordinary people are using the new tools to do good.

People helping people: it's a beautiful thing. Thanks Drew.

Take that cancer! You jerk.

Bonus Links:
- Mashable
- NBC TV
- Jackson West article

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

B.L. Ochman's Blogger Outreach Manifesto

2009-10-01T16:02:01Z

Readith what we write before thou contacteth us. (It always helps to knoweth the name of our dog.)
Calleth us by our actual names (do not call me Mr. Ochman, for example)
Call us not "dear blogger"
Contact us only when you have something relevant to say. Before you contacteth a blogger, ask thyself "Who cares?" and "So what?" Haveth answers to both these queries. You will need them.
Be sure thy pitch is not mundane. Verily, one must stand out among hundreds of other hopefuls.
Snooker us not. Since many bloggers are bullshitters, we have excellent BS radar.
Sendeth not any unsolicited email attachments, for they soon shall be trash.
Pitch not in Twitter direct messages. Thou wilt instantly be blocked forever.
Disguise not your pitch as a blog comment.
Don't tell us that you knoweth we'll want to cover XYZ. Thou does not.
Keep thy pitches short and pithy, but be not perky.Pitch not! Inform. Don't call us, we'll call thee.
Bring us thy pitch before you give it to everyone and her dog. Recognize that embargoes are stupid, and likely to be ignored.
Do not pretend that thou are not a publicist.
Tell not any lies. You will be found out and flogged on Twitter, Facebook, Friend Feed and Scoble's blog.
If thou behaveith truly foolishly, or in a way that annoys Loren Feldman for some reason, thou may end up as a puppet character in a 1938 Media video.
Providith an email address from your company, not hotmail, yahoo, or gmail; and include a phone number so we know thy company truly exists
Begin not thy pitch, or include in thy press release "We are excited about...." Of course you are. We're not.
Remembereth that bloggers know each other and sendeth each other silly PR pitches for sport
If thy company hath made a mistake and we note it duly in a post, respondeth in an honest manner.
Be sure thou doth not demand retraction, although one may politely request a correction.
Say what thy company will do to correct its mistake, and by when.
Thy blogger outreach person should be a big cheese, not a lowly flak.
Answer issues in the medium in which they occur. Answer blog posts in blog comments. Answer YouTube videos in YouTube. Be certain thy responses are direct, have verity, and soundeth not like corporate speak.
Maintainith, always, thy senses of irony, absurdity, and humor.
Forget thee not, that what goes on line, stays online.

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Nike Denies Vick Endorsement - But Denial Rings Hollow

2009-10-01T12:22:20Z

As a dog lover, I am revolted by Michael Vick - the admitted torturer and killer of hapless dogs. Yes, he did time, yes, he says he will rehabilitate himself. No, he has not done anything to indicate that he means it.

Washington Post: "What does that mean for Michael Vick? Barring some unusual or historic development, this is what Michael Vick will be known for the rest of his life. Whether he says another word about it or not, his face will be the face for this issue, and his name will be the name attached to it."

The Philadelphia Eagles took him back. I find that revolting, but there is nothing I can do about it. But as a consumer, I have options, and I choose to boycott Nike. I hope all animal lovers will join me.

Today, Nike is denying media reports that Nike has re-upped on his endorsement deal.

In an email I received today from Nike (exchange is below, in reverse chronological order) they claim "We have agreed to supply product to Michael Vick as we do a number of athletes who are not under contract with Nike."

Given that there are tens of thousands of aspiring and accomplished athletes who are not convicted animal abusers, this is a reprehensible decision on Nike's part.

I am throwing away all Nike products in my possession. Please let the company know that you are doing the same.

Apparently, nothing but money matters to Nike. Let's talk to them in their own terns. BOYCOTT NIKE! Just Do It!

The following is my email exchange with Nike:

[B.L. Ochman] Subject: Former customer disgusted that you gave Vick his deal back

---------------------------------------------------------------

Customer (B.L. Ochman) - 09/30/2009 08:39 PM
Giving dog torturer and murderer Michael Vick millions to endorse your shoes - which have now ceased to exist for me - makes a mockery of any corporate social responsibility charades the company is playng.

Get ready for a huge public backlash from pet owners.
A former customer
B.L. Ochman
Editor
Pawfun Blog
http://www.pawfun.com/blog

[Nike response] On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 12:17 PM, nikebiz.com wrote:
------------------
Response (Jeff) - 10/01/2009 09:16 AM
Thank you for your email. Nike does not have a contractual relationship with Michael Vick. We have agreed to supply product to Michael Vick as we do a number of athletes who are not under contract with Nike.
Thank you again for your feedback.
Sincerely,
Nike (note the absence of a name)
-----------------------
[My response to Nike 10/1/09]
Supplying Michael Vick with product is still an endorsement. He is a dog killer and torturer. I am organizing a protest by animal lovers. We will all be sending our Nike products back. This is inexcuseable.

Nike has the opportunity to support any of thousands of athletes who are NOT convicted animal abusers. Nike gives Vick a tacit endorsement by giving him free product, and a lot of dog lovers find that decision reprehensible.

Nike should be ashamed of itself.
B.L. Ochman
AdAge Power 150 Blogger
What's Next Blog
Pawfun Blog

Your thoughts?

The t-shirt above is one of 1,105 anti-Vick garments on Zazzle

All content copyright B.L. Ochman, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, with the attribution: By B.L. Ochman, What's Next Blog, and a link to the post

Links for 2008-09-11 [del.icio.us]

2008-09-12T00:00:00-07:00

Facebook | Facebook Pages
facebook's promo on creating facebook pages in new facebook
e-clipsblog
this blog is new to me - subscribed
Unype: A location-based social application platform
social platform to bring social networks together. a bit confusing, but interesting
zefranks flickr page
wonderful monsters and other goodies from the mind of zefrank
Simply Bhangra - Music At Your FingerTips -
bhangra rocks. you MUST listen. OMG! beautiful music.
Canine Freestyle Federation: home page
canine freestyle dancing organization. i love this.
Plan Your Audience Acquisition Strategy | chrisbrogan.com
how to build more blog readership
Wendy's Takes First Stab at Viral Video With 'Crazy Lettuce' - Advertising Age - News
Another thing that could work against it: The finicky demographic hates to be marketed to, and on YouTube, the film is prominently flagged as a viral video for Wendy's.

Links for 2008-09-10 [del.icio.us]

2008-09-11T00:00:00-07:00

Cool Hunting
dog-related products
Memory Walk 2008, New York City - Home
i'm forming a team to honor my mom.

Links for 2008-09-09 [del.icio.us]

2008-09-10T00:00:00-07:00

Go Big Always - Citizens of the new tribes
absolutely fantastic illustrations! the big picture on how we all relate. don't miss this post!
Titanium - Blog
Thank you Mitch! B.L. Ochman's 12 Tenets of Social Media Marketing: "This is a brilliant manifesto for marketing in the 21st century... Essential thinking"
Barbie for President 2004 - Raving Toy Maniac - The Latest News and Pictures from the World of Toys
Barbie's 2004 presidential campaign promises: create world peace, help the homeless and poor, and take care of animals