Category: Uncategorized

(N.B. This post originally appeared on March 12, 2007.  But it completely recaptures where things are today, with all sorts of thoughts from Mobilize, BlogWorldExpo and Oracle OpenWorld mashing and spiraling wonderfully in my brain.)

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Tara gets asked: "How do you guys get any work done with all of the things you are involved in?"

Stowe writes: "In a world of flow, information will find us. And we will find ourselves more connected, in a richer world, with a different form of attention."

I totally agree with both of them.  And I also think that we need to nudge the thinking along just a step further.  "Flow" is needed, and for individuals in an organization to be part of what’s going on, they need to be in it.  Agreed.

Back in the early and mid 90’s, I did a lot of whitewater rafting, primarily on the Gauley River in West Virginia.  Once you were in the flow, you were in the flow.  No turning back.  However (and this is a big however), if you were in the wrong part of the flow, things got very dicey, very quickly…sometimes with significant consequences.

Before jumping into the flow, you need to know the direction you’re going.  Just as importantly, after you come out of a particularly turbulent part of the flow, you need to look back, and think about what worked, what didn’t, and what you’re going to do next time.

At SXSW this weekend, was thinking about this a lot, and realized there are really two parts of it:

• Part of the time you’re in the midst of the flow, and connecting with people and ideas
• Part of  the time you’re taking a breather, and reflecting on what just happened and what’s going to happen next…

(Gauley photo credits: The fine folks at Ace Whitewater, from whom I learned as much as I ever did in any classroom.  Jack & Tug…thanks again!)

Off to Mobilize today.  Seeya there.

GigaOm’s next-generation mobile conference, Mobilize is a one-day conference 
designed to bring to you the future of the broadband mobile web. Using
the existing industry as a platform, we will examine emerging ideas and
emerging markets.

tags: #mobilize #mobilizeconf

Francois Gossieaux from Beeline Labs, along with Deloitte and the Society for New Communications
Research,
has done some great research on how organizations are using online communities in both the business-to-business (b2b) and business-to-consumer (b2c) contexts (some nonprofits were included in the mix as well).  Over 140 organizations were included in the study, which covered online business communities with only a few dozen members, all the way up to communities with over 10,000 members. While we’re on the topic of online businesses, the idea of using tools similar to this keyword position checker google could help you get a better understanding of the SEO side of it all and finding ways of improving your business.

Here’s a link to the Tribalization of Business study results.

Some key quotes from Francois about the findings, by way of an interview with Shel Israel:

On organizational structure: “Most community efforts ended up reporting in to the CMO, even though
that is not where they all originated. In the recent past, most
community activities started somewhere as a skunkworks project – only
to be rolled into the CMO’s turf after the program gained recognition.”

On technology versus strategy: “Another surprise was how many companies started their community
initiatives as a technology platform decision – only to realize that if
you build it, they may not come. Some very successful community
executives suggested that if your community cannot survive in a Yahoo!
Group-like discussion environment, it will probably not survive
anywhere. One of the more important factors for the success of
community initiatives is the content strategy for the community – not
the technology strategy.“ (emphasis added)

On bringing marketing back to the customer perspective: “We believe that CMOs have an opportunity to transform their role
into that of Chief Customer Officer – and represent the Voice of the
Customer at the executive table…Leveraging the power of communities and the customer insights that
they provide could put CMOs back in the strategic seats where they
belong.”

The last word: “Please, don’t start your community project as a technology platform selection.”

Click here to read the whole interview.

Click here to see the results of the study.

Jon Gatrell and Sheryl Altschuler have just put out a great e-book called The Social Marketing Construct.  Check it out.

Two pocket guides for events this week.  Get ’em!  Click on the icons to get the guides.  They’re tuned for iPhone and
mobile, and you can also get a widget for your blog, if you’re so
inclined.

BlogWorldExpo

The first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event
dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media.
In addition to the only industry-wide exhibition, BlogWorld features
the largest blogging conference in the world including more than 50
seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on
the leading-edge of online technology and internet-savvy business.

Mobilize08

GigaOm’s next-generation mobile conference, Mobilize is a one-day conference 
designed to bring to you the future of the broadband mobile web. Using
the existing industry as a platform, we will examine emerging ideas and
emerging markets.

Enjoy!

(Background: "Free: Why $0.00 is the Future of Business" and "Steal This Slide:The Six Kinds of Free")

Maddie Grant has been thinking about what "free" means to associations, which have historically relied on membership dues to provide a sizable proportion of an organization’s annual revenue.  However, over the past thirty years, membership dues have continued to shrink in this regard.

(source: ASAE)

Membership dues have served multiple purposes, such as enabling discounts on other products that are offered by the organization, or enabling access to "members-only" information or services.  These dues help to fund the "mission" of the organization, whatever it may be. 

These dues also are a way to "value" the opportunity to join the community of like-minded individuals who are members of the organization.

In this context, Grant looks for analogs for each of the six kinds of free, and how they apply to her industry.  Grant asks:

Can these [six kinds of free] be translated to member services?

• Freemium – Free entry to online communities, charge for "premium" areas/functionality?
• Advertising – On websites, online communities, e-newletters, sponsorships?Cross subsidies – free initial access to articles, charge for distribution?
• Zero marginal cost – Webinars, podcasts, other e-learning modules?
• Labor exchange – Wikis?
• Gift economy – Any social object that promotes the association / donated labor or barter system?

(N.B. The more this comes up, the more it feels like the discussions that were heralded by Doc Searls circa 2004-2005 regarding blogs, and the different "monetization" models that were being applied to them.  The net of the ‘net: you will likely make money because of something you’re doing, rather than with it.  More on this here.  And a the seeds of the "because effect" were sown here.)

Back to the point above, the one about membership dues being a way to "value" the opportunity to join a community of like-minded individuals who are aligned around a particular mission or affinity.  Does that model still work?  With ambient "community" showing up, well, in practically every system or business plan that is being created, is there value in tithing when an individual can simply find others with similar interests via blogs, or even on Facebook or LinkedIn?  (I don’t have an answer to this quandary and am hoping others with opinions will weigh in via the comments.)

So what about your business?  If your "traditional" revenue stream began to tend to free, how would you make money?

Ok, maybe I’m showing some Chicago-roots regional bias.  🙂

This is actually a very cool visualization.  What do you call it?

Via: Strange Maps

Cannes short film award winner, on the power of words: http://tinyurl.com/5t4dr8 .  Worth a viewing.

On Saturday, we created a mobile resource guide for those affected by Gustav, as many in the path of the storm would not have internet access.  As people begin returning home and begin the process of rebuilding after nearly $8billion in damage, we hope this mobile resource guide will aid the Hurricane Gustav relief efforts. 

There are three versions of the Gustav Mobile Resource Guide available:

• For iPhone
• For Mobile (including the Nokia N95 and BlackBerry)
• For Your Blog (just click "Get Widget" at the bottom of the widget on this page)

The guide offers quick access to…

News – Minute-by-minute updates from government agencies and citizen journalists.

Info – Quick references for how to help.

People and Shelters – Searchable self-reported listings of shelters, resources, aid providers, and evacuees.

Raise awareness about the relief efforts by adding this guide to your blog sidebar. Stay connected to the latest info by bookmarking it in your iPhone or other mobile device.

Mobile version

Widget version

If you’re a member of an association, or are an executive at one, you’ll want to check this out.  Our friends over at Principled Innovation have just published the Association Social Technologies Executive Summary.  Some really great information in here.  A few highlights:

• 31% of associations have a social networking presence
• 10% of associations will have a social networking presence "soon"
• 31% of associations are exploring the idea of using social networking
• 24% of associations report that their association has a blog
• 92% of those blogs allow reader comments (sweet! – ed.)
• 14% of associations report using a wiki

A lot of really, really great stuff in the exec summary; can’t wait for the full report.  Check it out here.

Related: Social Networking for Businesses and Associations