Sunday, September 28th, 2008
If needing to take notes is my personal benchmark for how good a book is (like Joseph Jaffe’s Join The Conversation), then Andrew Keen’s Cult Of The Amateur falls firmly in the opposite category. To be honest, for the first half of the book I was waiting for the “haha gotcha!” moment, because no one could be this blind towards the benefits of Web2.0 and community and collaboration.
But I soon discovered it would never come.
Keen fancies his book a polemic, but what it really is, is a rant. After reading the first chapter, every subsequent chapter was merely a repetition of what was said before, albeit with different examples and/or research.
Speaking of research, that is the one thing that Keen does well. I enjoyed reading the statistics, but not the conclusions drawn. for example he gives a timeline for the decline in music sales and says something to the effect that is no coincidence that this happened at around the time of the internet’s birth.
Keen loves the old world. He loves the “cultural gatekeepers” like reporters, news anchors, editors, movie reviewers and the like. Maybe crowdsourcing doesn’t always work, but I would almost always rather determine whether I want to watch a movie based on what people say online, than that one singular review in the newspapers by a “cultural gatekeeper”. In fact I’m working on a deck talking about “The New Gatekeepers”, so obviously I am in direct opposition with Keen here.
One thing Keen does do well, is highlight the problems the internet has brought. Online gambling addiction, pornography, plagarism, not watching one’s online identity. I’m in agreement with these social ills, but the way he writes the book, it sounds like these eclipse everything good about Web2.0 (democratisation of media, more choice than ever via the long tail, experiences that we’d otherwise never have, collaboration, discussion, community, the list goes on). And he makes it sound that these are so terrible that we should just get rid of the internet entirely, although he stops just short of saying that.
Keen also points to Viacom suing YouTube as a “powerful message”, but my bet is that Viacom (who owns MTV, VH1 and Nickleodeon) is wishing they had bought YouTube instead of Google. Just think of the possibilities if Viacom owned that media channel.
All in all, I did not enjoy reading this book at all. Not just because it goes against everything I believe in about social media and community, but because the arguments are one sided. He talks about the money lost by Frito-Lay choosing to go with an amateur advertising campaign, and makes it the fault of social media. But is it anyone’s fault that “professionals” failed to deliver better content and creativity than the “amateurs”? He simply takes one side of the coin and runs with it.
For people already in this space, I wouldn’t recommend reading this book because it isn’t going to change your mind. The arguments are just not strong and/or compelling enough, and your money will be much better spent going towards a book that will help improve your social media life.
But hey don’t take my word for it, check out visual bookshelf on Facebook for many similar reviews, or just check out at this user-generated content by another reviewer (which I found while looking for the cover image). I bet Mr. Keen hates all these “amateur” review and wishes it were all done by a “cultural gatekeeper” instead.
Tags: andrew keen, cult of the amateur, cultutal gatekeepers, facebook, frito-lay, join the conversation, joseph jaffe, polemic, rant, Research, the new gatekeepers, viacom, visual bookshelf, web2.0, youtube
Posted in Books, Singapore | 3 Comments »
Saturday, September 13th, 2008
The continual frustrations over Social Media Breakfast | Singapore are really getting on my nerves, moreso because I’m here in Canada and can’t be on the ground dealing with things.
Here’s the thing for everyone who wants to partner with us for any Social Media Breakfast | Singapore: Go pick up Join The Conversation by Joseph Jaffe (my review here), and understand the idea of community, dialogue and partnership, and then we’ll talk.
We are not a business. Your venue is not the be all and end all. We don’t need to impress anyone with our venue. When you bring up money or revenue, you demonstrate that you don’t understand partnership.
You demonstrate that you are no different from any other business that wants to broadcast your message in a one way communication method.
You demonstrate an extremely myopic view on the short term, instead of an investment in the future.
You demonstrate that you don’t understand the importance of relationships in the new world.
You demonstrate that you want to be involved in this new space, but you bring the old mentality with it. And the Web 2.0 crowd sees through that.
Maybe this post will dissuade people from offering to “sponsor” future breakfasts, in all honesty, I hope it does. Companies who read this and still feel there is value to be reaped by partnership and don’t dictate terms, will be exactly the type of companies we want to partner with.
At this rate, the next Social Media Breakfast | Singapore will be a picnic with sandwiches. And you know what? I have a feeling that may benefit the community even more.
Tags: community dialogue partnership, corporate sponsorship, join the conversation, joseph jaffe, social media breakfast singapore
Posted in Singapore, Uncategorized, community, social media, social media breakfast | 8 Comments »
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
The biggest compliment I can give to Joseph Jaffe’s new book, Join The Conversation (currently #37 on Amazon’s business books list), is that I took so long to finish it despite receiving it in late February as part of the UNM2PNM initiative. I whiz through fiction fairly quickly, but when it comes to non-fiction, specifically marketing, communication or social media specific, I need to read the book with an open notebook and pen next to me so I can take notes and review them later. Obviously, this means more time because doing that on a bus can be a hassle, so many hours of camping at Starbucks and Borders later, I’ve finally finished the book and what can I say, it it any surprise I love it?
The first thing I need to tell you, is that if you’re already well immersed in this social media fishbowl, then as Joseph has said many times on the Jaffe Juice podcast, this book isn’t really meant for you. It’s less of a “how to” book and more of a “why you should” book, which you should probably pass on to your manager or CEO to read, and get more buy in for your social media experiments.
What I really enjoyed were all the case studies. I’m almost embarrassed to mention that I didn’t recognise most of them. I’ve realised more and more that case studies are important when trying to sell your social media idea. Showing the best examples of initiatives that worked, and the worst examples of ignoring the consumer (the latest comes from Joseph Jaffe himself with Delta Airlines), can work wonders in getting execs stuck in their prehistoric ways to wake up.
If you’re currently struggling with implementing a social media experiment, or even thinking about it, give the book a read. Learn from some successes and failures and do better! If you don’t have the time to read it, try tuning in to Jaffe Juice (the podcast). I’d recommend starting with #105 which is a nice roundtable discussion with executives from different companies talking about their initiatives and the results, or check out the Join The Conversation blog
Tags: book review, case studies, jaffe juice, jaffe juice podcast, join the conversation, joseph jaffe, social media experiment, unm2pnm
Posted in Books | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
How do you keep up with the comments you leave on other blogs? I think if you’re truly interested in joining and contributing to a conversation, you need to check in again to know how the discussion is evolving over time and whether the author has replied to you. The worst thing you can do is leave a comment and never visit the page again.
What I do (or used to do) is after I’ve left a comment, I bookmark the page under a “check for comments” folder and track it daily until the comments die out.
Something I’ve realised recently is that certain blogs have a “receive follow up comments via email” check box, which is really useful to me as it saves the trouble of bookmarking the site. Disqus is another option, but it’s a bit of a hassle to verify.
So today, Krisandro was helpful enough to point me in the direction of the Wordpress plugin and henceforth, you’ll be able to follow up with the comments too. I’d highly encourage it because I find that I’m must more involved in the conversations when I track them after I’ve posted.
Hope you enjoy using it.
Tags: blog comments, comments, join the conversation, tracking comments, tracking conversations, wordpress comments plugin
Posted in Announcements, Blogs | 5 Comments »
Sunday, April 20th, 2008
Coming back to thoughts from the IDC Conference, one topic of debate was whether advertising on blogs is okay and whether it sends the right kind of message. Let’s look at it both from the corporation and from the blogger’s point of view.
The Blogger Point Of View.
I personally think third party advertising (ie Nuffnang, Google Adwords/Adsense) is okay. You’re not directly endorsing whatever they’re advertising, just making use of your internet “real estate”. And just like the real world, if you have prime real estate (ie high blog traffic of the right demographics), then why not make some money out of it? After all you’ve worked hard to build that brand and/or community and adding value, no reason why you shouldn’t reap some reward.
What I do have issue with if going straight for advertising. Starting out blogs with the intention of selling space or drawing attention to your 125×125 boxes that you’re willing to sell at $15/week or whatever. It makes me question the validity of the blog and if I should worry about whether you’re telling me A is better than B because A is in one of the 125×125 boxes.
I’m going to condense this with the issue of trust. I haven’t had companies approach me with incentives in return to review stuff. One thing I did opt in for was Joseph Jaffe’s Use New Marketing To Prove New Marketing campaign, where I receive a copy of Join The Conversation and post a review in return. (It’s coming soon). I think that’s fine for three reasons:
1) It’s directly in my niche
2) Jaffe doesn’t ask for a positive review, just an honest review.
3) It’s clear that I got the book for free and I’m reviewing it in return, as opposed to when I plug books that I paid money for.
I think as long as people know that there was a sponsorship involved, they’re fine with it. The big issue is when they’re misled. Then the backlash really comes. For example if I took Jaffe’s book and said it’s God’s gift to marketers/PR agencies/advertisers/the whole world, but didn’t tell them I got $0.10 for every book sale that comes from me, that will hurt me when it comes out. And believe me, it will come out. (That said, I am not making money from Jaffe’s book in any way)
And as a blogger I’d treat any similar “freebie” the same way. I’d be happy to take your product and give it a spin, but the fact that I had that privilege, is not going to colour my review or thoughts either way.
The Corporation’s Point Of View
Many businesses don’t look to bloggers to get their word out yet, because they’re worried about control. What if I give the blogger A and he says A sucks. Well, it comes with the territory. If you don’t give the blogger that product, someone else is going to pay money for it and blog that it sucks anyway. The fault is the product, not the message.
I think the most important thing is not to come across as a company who wants the same thing every company wants (even if you do). Because bloggers will know. A great case study which happened in the US, but could well happen anywhere, is the GM sponsorship of a Manic Mommies event, as covered in CC Chapman’s Managing The Gray. It’s a lengthy case study and you should listen to the podcast to get the full story, but essentially they didn’t say “Here’s $30k, do what you want but plaster our logo everywhere”.
No, they listened to what the Manic Mommies needed and focused on finding the common space where they can add value and build relationships, which really is what this whole space is about.
Ultimately, this space is new and is ever-changing. But trust, transparency and reputation will always be important. The method of doing your advertising online, who you approach and the results may vary, but you have to do it right. Not just “right” in terms of achieving the right metrics and ROI, but right in the proper way that values people and relationships, which will pay for it self many times over in the longterm.
Tags: add value build relationships, advertising with bloggers, blogosphere advertising, cc chapman, directions 2008, gm and manic mommies, google adsense, google adwords, idc conference, internet real estate, is blog advertising ok, join the conversation, manic mommies, nuffnang, should companies advertise on blogs, should we advertise on blogs, sponsorship, unm2pnm, use new marketing to prove new marketing, who the advertise to on blogs
Posted in Blogs, Marketing, Podcasts, social media | 3 Comments »
Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Over the last two weeks I’ve been reading about Sheylara’s Xbox gaming preview and then heard about it on the Tech65 podcast today, and last night I read about the HP Mini-note PC blogger preview from Michael, Vanessa, Bernard and Estee (among many others).
My first thoughts? “Damn I need to buy an Xbox 360 just to play The Force Unleashed”, and “Damn that HP Mini-note PC would be sweet to carry while I travel”.
More serious thoughts: I think it’s great that companies like Microsoft and HP would reach out to our local bloggers in the blogosphere. And on top of that, I think it’s great that they didn’t just throw out a wide net and see who gets caught in it, but they really made an effort to engage in targeted outreach to reach the people who would be excited about their products.
Today I also met up with people from The Digital Movement for an informal discussion with a couple of execs from Google to talk a little about feedback and collaboration.
I think this is definitely signaling change in Singapore. No longer are these big companies thinking: We will just produce the product and people will just buy them. They recognise that there is a conversation taking place whether they like it or not, whether they want to take part in it or not.
And frankly, I feel they ignore this conversation at their peril.
I’m sure there are people who’re going to say “Well, how many of these bloggers who saw the HP Mini-note PC will actually buy it? Or how many people who read a blog entry on it will buy it? What’s my conversion rate?” in other words: How is this going to affect my bottom line?
I think from a very practical point of view, that has to be a consideration. But is it the only consideration? So many management case studies point to hotels who give employees a certain amount of money to make right customer complaints as a way of generating goodwill. Is this truly any different?
If the result of this blogger outreach means that the next time someone is searching for the HP Mini-note PC as part of research about whether or not to buy it, and the top few results on Google are these pages and reviews and feedback from the bloggers who attended the outreach, I think the cost of holding that blogger outreach has paid for itself.
I have a lot of other thoughts on the whole blogger outreach strategy and who it works for and stuff like that, but I’d really like to hear your thoughts on the issue. So… comment away!
Tags: bernard leong, blogger exlusive, blogger outreach, blogger preview, bottom line, estee, geek goddess, Google, hp, hp mini-note pc, ignore the conversation at your peril, join the conversation, michael cheng, microsoft, sheylara, targeted outreach, tech 65, the digital movement, the force unleashed, vanessa tan, xbox preview
Posted in Blogs, Marketing, Singapore, social media | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Sheylara and I met up just yesterday to squeeze out this video to serve as a trailer for Social Media Breakfast: Singapore happening on Saturday (full disclosure: she did most of the work and deserves most of the credit). Check it out:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJqpXnHFRM]
I’ve been asked a few times what exactly the Social Media Breakfast is for. To me, it’s mainly for networking and meeting like-minded people who are into the social media space. That said, I think it’s perfectly fine if anyone feels that the main purpose is for fun or socialising or anything like that.
The other question is whether discussion has to be about social media, and I think the answer is no. I think it’s great to talk about the last movie you watched, or what you usually have for breakfast, or if you are a Twitter-addict. Anything goes. I suspect the true magic and connections will materialise after the event, when these relationships are allowed to grow both online and offline, as CC Chapman alludes to from his SXSW experience.
The ultimate goal of Social Media Breakfast? To me, as a believer of Mitch Joel’s belief of building communities and Joseph Jaffe’s belief of creating and joining conversations, the ultimate goal would be to really build up the social media community in Singapore, regardless of individual usages, be it personal, work, school or play.
If you’re interested in attending the event, the Facebook event page can be found here. Breakfast is $4 a person, but you will receive the personal tagging kit free!
If you need to speak to anyone to clarify anything, there’s me, Derrick or Sheylara online, or on Twitter at @uniquefrequency, @derrickkwa, @sheylara. See you on Saturday!
Tags: cc chapman, community, derrick kwa, facebook, jeff pulver, join the conversation, meet liike-minds, personal tagging kit, sheylara, social media breakfasst singapore trailer, social media breakfast singapore video, sxsw, twitter
Posted in Singapore, social media breakfast | 11 Comments »
Monday, February 18th, 2008
Admittedly I didn’t listen to many podcasts in January, but I’m still going to do this for the month, and there are a few conditions:
- I must have listened to the podcast in January (regardless of when it was actually released)
- The selected podcast can be the most entertaining/informative/educational. Anything goes.
So the winner for last month goes to Jaffe Juice #101 for an excellent Winners and Losers segment covering the whole Scrabulous fiasco by Scrabble and Mattel, as well as Target’s blatant disrespect to the blogging community. On top of that, it was this episode that motivated me to take part in Joseph’s UNM2PNM (Use New Marketing To Prove New Marketing) initiative, where he sends me a copy of his latest book, Join The Conversation, and I provide him a review in return. Sounds fantastic? It is.
Other notable mentions this month:
There’ll be much more nominees for February (I’ve already listened to about 10 podcasts so far), so keep reading for that, or if you’re feeling nice, why not subscribe to my RSS feed to make sure you don’t miss it?
If you agree or disagree with my choice, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, and alternatively, if you have a podcast you’d like to recommend me to listen to, leave me a comment as well.
Tags: across the sound, comic pants, hasbro, jaffe juice, january podcasts, join the conversation, joseph jaffe, mattel, mitch joel, podcast of the month, Podcasts, randy lander, scrabulous, six pixels of separation, target, twist image, unm2pnm
Posted in Podcasts | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
I was talking to Wanida online yesterday and telling her I really enjoyed Avenue Q, so she asked to borrow my soundtrack. I initially said no because she should watch it in person! She countered by saying that hearing the songs, will further increase her interest to catch the next time in New York. I realised that was pretty much the same for me: listening to Les Miserables on cd on an almost-daily basis when I was young made me really want to catch it when I first flew to New York to see how the scenes I imagined in my head played out on stage.
With that in mind, I went to the website to find a song or video clip to show her, but the only clips on the official site were 29 seconds long (featuring a cast who isn’t even performing anymore), and those on youtube are secretly filmed in the theatres.
So how in the world does someone in Singapore get an actual sample of what Avenue Q is about?
First of all, let’s establish that Avenue Q does a great job with traditional marketing. There are huge billboards in Times Square with really funny, provocative advertisements. That works fine if people are living in the United States and are exposed to it.
However, Avenue Q is never going to go to certain countries like Singapore and others because it’s controversial and we’re conservative. When Singaporeans (and perhaps most tourists) visit New York, the tendency is to catch the newest show (Is He Dead?), the hottest show (Wicked) or the sold-out-for-ten-years show (The Lion King). Given that there are easily 20-odd theatres with musicals at any one time, how does a show like Avenue Q get the average tourist to consider their show instead? (And hey, before you think Avenue Q isn’t any good, they won the Tony over Wicked).
My solution is to release full length audio and video clips for download and/or streaming. Before you get up from your seat and go “What? Those seats go for a hundred bucks!”, hear me out.
This will enable people to really sample what the show is like, get the show some exposure, and if they ever make a trip over to the United States, you can bet that in addition to Wicked and Lion King (which will probably be sold out anyway), they’ll have Avenue Q in mind as a possible Broadway musical to catch as well.
Why full length audio? Avenue Q has an advantage in that it has absolutely brilliant and attention-grabbing song titles. Imagine seeing a friend listening to “The Internet Is For Porn” or “It Sucks To Be Me” on MSN or Last.fm, that is definitely going to generate interest, which can translate to word of mouth and eventually, ticket sales.
This concept of distributing certain bits of a product for free isn’t new. I first read about it in October when Chris Anderson gave away a chapter of his book, Mitch Joel at Six Pixels of Separation has also explored How to make money by giving something away for free.
Joseph Jaffe also has a new initiative UNM2PNM (that’s Using New Marketing To Prove New Marketing) by giving away 150 copies of Join The Conversation, as long as the recipients give an honest review of the book. I’ve applied for a book, hopefully geographical restrictions allow for it to happen.
Finally, let me say that I’m providing a fairly simplistic view of Avenue Q’s distribution. I don’t know what the legal scene is like and if this is actually possible. But if it were, this would be something I’d do straightaway.
Tags: avenue q, broadway, chris anderson, free chapter, is he dead, jaffe juice, join the conversation, joseph jaffe, last.fm, les miserables, lion king, mitch joel, new york, Singapore, six pixels of separation, tony award, unm2pnm, wicked
Posted in Marketing | 8 Comments »
